Takata Corp. announced on Wednesday that its president Stefan Stocker is stepping down from his position so that the company could focus on improving its response to the worldwide airbag recall crisis.
"Mr. Stocker decided to resign due to personal reasons. He believes it is better for Takata to streamline its efforts to deal with the situation," said Aikiko Watanabe, a Takata spokeswoman.
Stocker was the first foreign president of the auto supplier, and will remain as a board member while Shigehisa Takada will assume the president's role. Takada is the grandson of the company founder and current chairman of the company, according to Reuters.
Aside from losing the president post, Stocker will also receive a 30 percent pay cut. Other company executives including Takada are losing half of their pay for the next four months.
Takata has faced criticisms since June for its faulty airbags that cause metal shrapnel to fire out when deployed. At least five deaths have been linked to the airbags involving Honda cars. About 12 automakers have announced airbag recalls affecting more than 24 million cars over the past six years. Some American automakers are already considering shifting to a different supplier because of the supplier's slow response.
Even the U.S. Senate noticed the slow progress of the recall and replacement process, so it decided to step in and invite the officials for inquiries. But neither Stocker nor Takada attended the hearings.
Takata expects that by having Shigehisa Takada as the new president, it will accelerate the company's decision-making process. But analysts don't see that happening, as Takada has been handling the recall process for the past months.
"This move won't have much impact on the issue of airbag recalls," Shiro Sakamaki, an analyst covering the automotive components sector at Daiwa Securities, said to the Wall Street Journal.
