Business Briefs: Nissan expands recall for Takata air bags

FILE - This June 25, 2017 file, photo shows TK Holdings Inc. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. Takata is recalling 10 million more front air bag inflators sold to 14 different automakers because they can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel. The recall is the last one the bankrupt company agreed to in a 2015 settlement with U.S. safety regulators. It could bring to a close the largest series of recalls in U.S. history. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
FILE - This June 25, 2017 file, photo shows TK Holdings Inc. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. Takata is recalling 10 million more front air bag inflators sold to 14 different automakers because they can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel. The recall is the last one the bankrupt company agreed to in a 2015 settlement with U.S. safety regulators. It could bring to a close the largest series of recalls in U.S. history. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Nissan is recalling nearly 346,000 vehicles worldwide to replace dangerous Takata air bag inflators that can explode and hurl shrapnel.

The Nissan front passenger inflators are among 10 million from 14 different automakers that Takata is recalling. It's the last recall that the bankrupt Takata agreed to in a 2015 settlement with U.S. safety regulators.

The Nissan recall covers certain 2001 through 2003 Maximas, 2002 through 2006 Sentras, 2002 through 2004 Pathfinders, and 2007 through 2011 Versas. Also included are 2001 through 2004 Infiniti I30 and I35s, 2002 through 2003 QX4s, 2003 through 2008 FX35 and FX45s and 2006 through 2010 M35 and M45s.

Owners will be notified and dealers will replace the inflators starting around Feb. 10, at no cost to owners.

The Nissan inflators are part of a recall that Takata announced earlier this month. They were sold to 14 different automakers, who will conduct their own recalls. Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Honda, Subaru, Ferrari and Mazda already have made recall announcements. The recalled inflators were used to replace dangerous ones made by Takata until a permanent remedy could be developed.

GM moves temps to full-time jobs

General Motors said Wednesday that more than 1,350 temporary workers at 14 of its U.S. facilities will shift to full-time positions before the end of March. That includes the 930 the automaker already converted to full-time regular jobs on Jan. 6,

"Our employees are essential to meeting the needs of our customers, so providing these team members with an improved career-path forward has numerous benefits," said Gerald Johnson, GM's executive vice president of Global Manufacturing. "From health and safety to building high-quality products for our customers."

The plight of temporary workers seeking a pathway to a permanent job was a driving force behind the UAW's 40-day strike against GM last fall. On Sept. 16, some 48,000 UAW workers struck at 55 GM facilities in 10 states before ratifying a new four-year contract Oct. 26.

Under the new contract, the automaker is required to convert temps that have three years of continuous service to full-time regular employees.

African nations OK $5 billion dam plan

Officials from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan say they have reached a preliminary agreement aimed at clearing the way for the filling and operation of a $5 billion dam project on the Nile River.

The foreign ministers and water resources officials of the three countries concluded three days of meetings in Washington Wednesday with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and World Bank President David Malpass.

The project, called the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, is around 70% complete and promises to provide much needed electricity for Ethiopia's 70 million people. However, Egyptian officials are concerned that filing the reservoir behind the dam could significantly reduce the amount of Nile water available to Egypt.

In a joint statement, officials from the three countries said that they had agreed that the filing of the damn should be done in stages during the rainy season, which generally runs from July to August.

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