Honda has cut the pay of Takanobu Ito, chief executive, by a fifth – following the fifth recall of its Fit hybrid model in a year owing to safety issues, writes Kana Inagaki.
The carmaker announced the move yesterday after it said it was recalling about 426,000 more vehicles to address defects in ignition coils and circuits. Affected models include the hybrid and petrol versions of the Fit subcompact.
Carmakers and regulators have come under pressure to accelerate their response to safety issues. While Japanese companies often dock pay for poor financial results, as in the case of Sony and Nintendo executives this year, pay cuts as a penalty for recalls are unusual.