They did step in, by determining firing the tattletale was less than the cost of trying to fix the problem. Reminds me of a classic fight club quote

should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.