GM to release findings of internal probe of bad switch Thursday

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co will hold a news conference on Thursday at which it is expected to release the findings of the company's internal probe into why it took so long to discover a defective ignition switch linked to at least 13 deaths.

GM has scheduled a company town hall for Chief Executive Mary Barra, followed by a news conference and a call with analysts to provide an update on the faulty switch, which resulted in the recall of 2.6 million cars.

The events will be held at the automaker's technical center in Warren, Michigan, a Detroit suburb.

A GM spokesman declined to comment on the details of the event. But the No. 1 U.S. automaker is expected to release the findings of the internal probe it conducted to determine why a recall was not sought earlier for a problem first discovered by engineers in 2001. The investigation was led by Anton "Tony" Valukas, chairman of the law firm Jenner & Block.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)