General Motors will take a $1.3 billion charge in its first quarter !!

General Motors will take a $1.3 Billion Charge in its first quarter because of the massive recalls it announced earlier this year.

General Motors put two engineers on leave who are connected to the company's ignition switch glitch, and reached out to NASA to confirm that its recalled vehicles can be driven safely. The two engineers were not named.

"This is an interim step as we seek the truth about what happened," GM CEO Mary Barra told USA Today on Thursday. "It was a difficult decision, but I believe it is best for GM."

Federal auto regulators said on Tuesday that General Motors is being fined $7,000 each day for not providing enough information on the ignition-switch recall.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent General Motors 107 questions in order to determine if the company answered questions about defects promptly, USA Today reports. But according to the NHTSA, GM “did not respond to over a third of the (107) requests.”

The NHTSA is fining GM for the lack of information beginning April 3, bringing the sum to $28,000 so far with an additional $7,000 each day. The NHTSA says it could turn the matter over to the Justice Department as soon as tomorrow.

GM has recalled over 2.5 million cars that may be outfitted with faulty ignition switches that can impede air-bag deployment in accidents. The company first became aware of the problem in 2001 but did not promptly address the flaw. GM says it knows of 13 deaths linked to the faulty ignition switch and is currently subject to a criminal investigation.

Source: http://mashable.com/ - http://time.com/