Kobe says a focus on profit rather than quality led to the data tampering scandal
Tokyo — Kobe Steel said on Friday a lack of quality controls and a focus on profits was behind the widespread data tampering that has shaken up the supply chains of car and aeroplane makers around the world. Japan’s third-largest steel maker, which has posted losses in the past two business years, promised to automate more of its operations and reorganise its quality control systems to recover from one of the nation’s biggest corporate scandals. The 112-year-old company admitted last month that workers had tampered with product specifications for at least a decade, causing global car makers, aircraft manufacturers and other companies to check whether the safety or performance of their products had been compromised. No safety issues have so far been identified from the data cheating, which mainly involves falsely certifying the strength and durability of products. Kobe Steel was ordered by the ministry of economy, trade and industry last month to provide a detailed explanation of the...
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