General Motors Co.’s share price down, announces several senior executives shifts amid a wave of litigation over defective ignition switches

General Motors Co., which has been dealing with a series of litigation over defective ignition switches, revealed that it plans to make serious senior leadership changes. The move is considered a part of its strategy to make its quality and customer care better.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mary Barra, said in an official statement, cited by the Wall Street Journal: “We understand that we have to earn our customers’ trust and loyalty, and that every interaction matters.”

The U.S.-based company revealed that it appointed Alicia Boler-Davis, who has been a Senior Vice president of Global Quality and Customer Experience unit for two years now, at the position of Senior Vice President of Global Connected Customer Experience. Ms. Boler-Davis is to keep both roles.

The current senior executive in the Global Connected Customer division, Mary Chan, has made a decision to leave General Motors in order to seek other professional opportunities. Ms. Chan said she plans not to depart from the company earlier than the first quarter of the next fiscal year.

General Motors also announced that it named Grace Lieblein, who is currently the Vice President of Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, as a Vice President of the companys Global Quality division. Ms. Lieblein is to come as a successor to Ms. Boler-Davis in the global-quality position. Her role will be taken by Steve Kiefer, who currently leads the Global Powertrain unit of GM.

The leadership shifts come at a moment when General Motors is still facing difficulties due to the massive recall of no less than 2.5 million vehicles, because of an ignition switch problem. In addition, the state of Arizona has also joined the plaintiffs in the claims that motorists were misled by the company when it comes to its cars safety.

The state of Arizona is accusing General Motors of putting customers at risk by not disclosing safety issues and intentionally delaying the withdrawals. The case was filed on Wednesday and seeks civil penalties that amount to up to $10 000 per violation.

General Motors Co. was down 0.06% to close at $32.13 per share yesterday, marking a one-year decrease of 14.75%. The company is valued at $51.66 billion. The companys shares traded at €25.750 in Frankfurt as of 9:53 GMT. According to CNN Money, the 17 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for General Motors Co. have a median target of $41.00, with a high estimate of $53.00 and a low estimate of $27.00. The median estimate represents a +27.61% increase from the last price of $32.13.