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By Bloomberg

Honda Motor Co., the automaker reeling from a series of major recalls, is seeking to hire a senior quality engineer who would lead audits of suppliers’ quality assurance.

Honda listed the job opening Nov. 7 on its U.S. unit’s hiring website. The same day, U.S. senators called for the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into Takata Corp., its biggest supplier of air bags. The devices have been linked to five deaths in Honda models and recalls of more than 13 million vehicles by carmakers worldwide.

The auditor position is one of a series of quality- and safety-related job openings Honda has listed as President Takanobu Ito navigates the air-bag crisis and separate recalls involving crucial new models. Ito stood on a tangerine crate last month at a company event in Japan and exhorted employees to go “back to basics,” after taking a 20 percent pay cut for three months to show contrition for the quality issues plaguing the automaker.

“The job openings are just regular employment and not related to our recent recalls and quality issues,” Yuka Abe, a Honda spokeswoman, said by phone. “We are always looking for specialists.”

The company said it can’t go into detail about specific job postings when asked whether the positions were newly created.

Honda has listed at least nine other job openings since mid-October for engineers whose responsibilities range from testing and validating parts, dealing with mass-production design issues and auditing to analyzing problems at suppliers.

The Tokyo-based automaker is planning to widen Takata air- bag recalls globally, following its announcement last week that it would expand a U.S. safety campaign that had been limited to high-humidity areas. The move signaled a rift in Honda’s relationship with Takata, which has resisted demands by regulators to take similar action.

Autoliv, Daicel

Honda last week also turned to Stockholm-based Autoliv Inc. to supply replacement air-bag parts for recalled vehicles. The carmaker said it’s negotiating with Japan’s Daicel Corp. to secure more of the components. Honda is Takata’s biggest customer and owns a 1.2 percent stake in the Tokyo-based supplier.

Even before turning to Autoliv and agreeing to the nationwide recall, Ito, 61, told reporters that Takata needed to do more to find the root cause of its air-bag problems and increase production capacity for replacement parts. Honda and Takata have investigated why the air bags rupture during deployment and spew metal shards at passengers since 2007.

In addition to seeking out engineers, Honda this month listed a job opening for a mediation specialist who would “review and assess pre-litigation dispute cases for resolution.”

Honda Lawsuits

At least nine cases have been filed this year in U.S. courts claiming deaths or personal injuries caused by exploding Takata air bags. Two of the claims involved deaths in Honda cars -- one involving a California man who died in 2013 and the other of a Florida woman who died in October.

Lawmakers including Senator Richard Blumenthal last month criticized Honda and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV executives for entering into confidential settlements with families of air-bag accident victims. Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said the deals sealed off relevant details from the public.

Honda shared information related to the air-bag incidents that spurred the lawsuits with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Rick Schostek, executive vice president of Honda North America, said at a Nov. 20 Senate hearing.

In the two days leading up to the hearing, Honda listed customer relations supervisor and analyst positions on its website. The analyst’s job description included managing “complex case handling” such as accidents, injuries and fires.