• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
General Motors

GM’s profit plunges 83% on recall costs

By
Ben Geier
Ben Geier
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Ben Geier
Ben Geier
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 24, 2014, 8:41 AM ET
General Motors Posts Biggest Quarterly Profit In Six Years
MIAMI - AUGUST 12: A General Motors sign is seen on the Kendall Chevrolet-Dadeland dealership lot on August 12, 2010 in Miami, Florida. General Motors announced it posted second-quarter net income $1.3 billion, or 2.55 a share and on the same day their CEO Edward Whitacre Jr. announced he was stepping down. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Photo by Joe Raedle—Getty Images

General Motors said Thursday its second-quarter profit plunged 83% due to the cost of numerous recalls and the expected cost of a compensation fund for those killed or injured by a faulty ignition switch linked to at least 13 deaths.

The automaker said its net income in the quarter fell to $200 million, compared with $1.2 billion in the same period a year earlier.

The quarter included charges for the establishment of a victims’ compensation fund, which GM said could cost the company as much as $600 million, as well as an additional $874 million for the cost of repairing the nearly 30 million cars it has recalled so far this year.

The automaker’s results come after a quarter in which GM has issued myriad recalls and seen CEO Mary Barra called to testify in front of Congress multiple times. The company took a $35 million fine from the Department of Transportation and National Highway Transportation Administration, and could still be looking at even bigger charges from the Justice Department for the ongoing faulty ignition switch scandal.

GM’s (GM) revenue for the quarter was mostly flat from a year prior, with total money brought in sitting at $39.6 billion compared with $39.1 billion the year before.

On Wednesday, GM announced six new vehicle recalls, expanding beyond the ignition switch defect that has dogged the automaker for much of this year, bringing its total recall number for the year to 60 involving almost 30 million vehicles worldwide.

For much of the year, GM has been overwhelmed by a safety crisis set off by faulty ignition switches in millions of older cars that the automaker has linked to multiple deaths.

WATCH: GM’s profits crash like its cars

About the Author
By Ben Geier
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ryan Serhant starts work at 4:30 a.m.—he says most people don’t achieve their dreams because ‘what they really want is just to be lazy’
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: 'We are in trouble in our country'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was 'gonna invent a career.' He founded Reddit
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Meet the first CEO of the IRS: A Jamie Dimon protege facing a $5 trillion test this tax season
By Shawn TullyJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Right before Trump named Warsh to lead the Fed, Powell seemed to respond to some of his biggest complaints about the central bank
By Jason MaJanuary 30, 2026
2 days ago

Latest in

Workplace CultureProductivity
In the age of AI, better meetings might be your company’s secret weapon
By Claire ZillmanFebruary 1, 2026
1 hour ago
SuccessCareers
Despite Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky and Steve Jobs praising micromanagers, a new survey ranks them among the most annoying coworkers
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 1, 2026
2 hours ago
Big TechMark Zuckerberg
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative cut 70 jobs as the Meta CEO’s philanthropy goes all in on mission to ‘cure or prevent all disease’
By Sydney LakeFebruary 1, 2026
2 hours ago
harvard
CommentaryLeadership
How Trump helped Harvard: 5 ‘Crimson’ leadership lessons on standing up to bullies 
By Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Steven Tian and Stephen HenriquesFebruary 1, 2026
2 hours ago
The founder and CEO of $1.25 billion AI identity verification platform Incode, Ricardo Amper
SuccessGen Z
CEO of $1.25 billion AI company says he hires Gen Z because they’re ‘less biased’ than older generations—too much knowledge is actually bad, he warns
By Emma BurleighFebruary 1, 2026
3 hours ago
Several pictures of people receiving medical treatments including a facelift and oxygen therapy.
HealthSuper Bowl
Hims and Hers Super Bowl ad highlights ‘uncomfortable truth’ about elite healthcare for the rich and ‘broken’ system for the rest
By Jacqueline MunisFebruary 1, 2026
4 hours ago