Lawsuits say carmakers knew of faulty airbags
General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen and Mercedes all knew of problems with dangerous exploding Takata air bag inflators years before issuing recalls, according to three class actions filed Wednesday with the federal court in Miami.
The lawsuits cite company documents obtained through previous legal actions against other automakers over faulty Takata inflators. The plaintiffs allege that automakers were informed of inflator defects during tests but delayed taking action. Allegations against GM are among the most serious. Takata documents showed that GM employees expressed concerns about inflators rupturing as early as 2003.
Takata uses the chemical ammonium nitrate to create small explosions to inflate air bags. But the chemical can deteriorate when exposed to high temperatures and airborne moisture. That causes it to explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and hurling shrapnel. At least 22 people have died worldwide and more than 180 have been hurt.
Wells Fargo boosts CEO pay $4.6 million
Well Fargo’s board of directors has given CEO Tim Sloan a $4.6 million raise, despite the bank continuing to face the fallout of its sales-practices scandal and other issues.
In its annual proxy to shareholders, Wells Fargo said Wednesday that Sloan made $17.6 million last year, up from $13 million in 2016. While Sloan did not get a cash bonus in 2017, the value of the Wells Fargo stock awarded him rose to $15 million from $10.5 million.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo is facing several investigations into its business, most notably its opening of millions of fake accounts without getting customers’ authorization.
Covenant Transport raises profit outlook
Covenant Transport raised it profit outlook for the first quarter on Wednesday after freight revenue rose a better-than-expected 6.3 percent in the first couple of months of 2018.
Covenant CEO David Parker said the Chattanooga-based trucking company expects to earn 17 cents to 23 cents per share in operating income in the first three months of 2018. That is significantly better than the average forecast of 14 cents per share earnings by analysts who follow the company, according to Yahoo News. It is also a turnaround from the first quarter of 2017 when Covenant reported a net loss of $39,000.
“The truckload freight environment has been favorable during the first quarter to date, leading to operating results that are exceeding our expectations,” Parker said.
Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. is the holding company for Covenant Transport and Covenant Transport Solutions of Chattanooga; Southern Refrigerated Transport of Texarkana, Arkansas; and Star Transportation of Nashville, among other businesses.
Microsoft finds most complaints lack merit
Only one of 118 gender discrimination complaints made by women at Microsoft was found to have merit, according to unsealed court documents.
The Seattle Times reports the records illustrate the scope of complaints from female employees in technical jobs in the U.S. between 2010 and 2016. And according to the court documents, Microsoft’s internal investigations determined only one of those complaints was “founded.”
The documents were released as part of an ongoing lawsuit by three current or former Microsoft employees alleging gender discrimination.
The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status for the case, claiming more than 8,600 women collectively lost out on $238 million in pay and 500 promotions because of discrimination in the company’s performance review process.
Microsoft’s case is one of several against giant companies in the technology industry, which has been criticized in recent years for its lack of female and minority employees and for a workplace culture that some say is hostile toward those groups.