GM to recall 7M vehicles globally to replace Takata airbags

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors (GM) will recall about 7 million big pickup trucks and SUVs worldwide to replace potentially dangerous Takata airbag inflators.

The move came Monday after the U.S. government told the automaker it had to recall 6 million of the vehicles in the U.S. The recall will cost the automaker an estimated $1.2 billion. GM says it will not fight the recall. The company had petitioned the agency four times starting in 2016 to avoid a recall, contending the inflators are safe.

Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to fill airbags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate and explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel.

Twenty-seven people have been killed worldwide by the exploding inflators.