Regarding Testimony Before
Congress on Firestone Tires
Christine Karbowiak, Vice President, Public Affairs
Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.
Wednesday, September 6,
2000
“The Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., Masatoshi Ono, and other
top executives of the company came before Congress today pledging
their absolute resolve to find the cause of the problem with
the Firestone tires that we have voluntarily recalled.
“As we said to the House and Senate
committees, we will continue to work closely with the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ford Motor Company
on our voluntary safety recall of 6.5 million tires. It is our
goal to get the tires off the road as quickly as possible, to
determine what caused the problem, and to explain fully to our
customers, Congress and the American public.
“It is important to remember that
we announced this recall on a voluntary basis, before we knew
what was causing the problem. Since that time, we have moved
quickly and decisively, with public safety and satisfaction
as our top priority.
“Given the size of this recall and
the enormous challenges it presents, we believe we have made
remarkable progress. In less than one month’s time, we
have already replaced nearly two million tires by doubling our
U.S. production, maximizing tire imports, including air cargo
shipments from Japan, and buying tires from our competitors.
“To find the root cause of the problem,
we are reviewing every aspect of our manufacturing and quality
control process, closely examining the recalled tires, and retaining
outside experts.
“Our message in Washington today
is that we won’t stop here. We know there are many challenges
ahead and that we may have made some mistakes through this process.
But Bridgestone/Firestone will do everything we can to protect
the safety of our customers and to restore public confidence
in our brand.”
