BUSINESS BRIEF

Top GM safety engineer retires in wake of recall

5/6/2014

DETROIT — Another high-ranking General Motors engineer is leaving the company in the wake of its delayed recall of small cars with faulty ignition switches.

Jim Federico, who most recently headed safety, vehicle performance, and testing labs, is retiring after almost 36 years with the company. GM said he’s leaving on his own to work outside the auto industry.

Mr. Federico was GM’s highest-ranking executive with safety in his title in February, when the company began recalling 2.6 million older-model small cars to replace the defective ignition switches. He was also the chief engineer for global small cars in 2010, and was involved in an internal investigation into the faulty switches.

Mr. Federico reported to global engineering chief John Calabrese, who retired last month after 33 years at GM.