WARREN, Mich. — General Motors says a pattern of incompetence and neglect, not a larger conspiracy or cover-up, is to blame for a long-delayed recall of defective ignition switches.

GM CEO Mary Barra, who released the results of an internal investigation into the company’s missteps on Thursday, said 15 employees — many of them senior legal and engineering executives — have been forced out of the company for failing to disclose the defect, which the company links to 13 deaths. Five other employees have been disciplined.

GM also said it will establish a compensation program for families of victims and those who suffered serious injuries in accidents related to the switches. The program is expected to begin taking claims Aug. 1.

Barra called the investigation, which she ordered in March, “brutally tough and deeply troubling.” It took GM more than a decade to report the deadly switch failures to regulators and the public, and to recall the cars. Read more.

Have any of your cars been part of a recall?

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