A fixer-upper – Takata’s assets and skill base outweigh image and financial concerns

Mired in the largest airbag recall in history, Takata has finally been forced to file for bankruptcy in Japan and the US. Not only were the parts it supplied dangerously faulty but it actively defrauded customers by fudging test data on its airbag inflator performance and then kept quiet about it. The supplier was recently hit with US$1bn in penalty charges from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and a handful of executives have been indicted on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy.