Takata President Steps Down

Takata Corp. announced today that Stefan Stocker is stepping down from his position as the company’s president.

The announcement follows recalls that are the result of defective airbag inflators that Takata supplied to several major automakers. So far there are five deaths officially associated with the defect, all in Honda vehicles. The defective inflators are at the root of 24 million recalled vehicles worldwide in 2014 including approximately 17 million in the U.S. The faulty airbags can explode with too much force and send shards of metal into the cabin. Stocker became the comapny’s first foreign president in June, 2013 shortly after joining the company. He will remain with the company as a board member.

CEO Shigehisa Takada, 48, will become the company’s president and will take a 50 percent pay but for four months, the company said in a statement. He will also continue to serve as the CEO ad chairman of the company. Stocker and three other executives will also take pay cuts for four months.