GM Alleges Corruption, Sues Fiat Chrysler

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General Motors Company on Wednesday filed a racketeering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV , alleging that its rival bribed United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials over many years to corrupt the bargaining process and gain advantages, costing GM billions of dollars.

GM also alleged that Fiat Chrysler’s former chief executive, the late Sergio Marchionne, was central in the scheme.

The No. 1 U.S. automaker said it will seek “substantial damages” from FCA that it said would be reinvested in the United States to create jobs, but did not specify an exact amount.

The lawsuit comes at a delicate time for FCA, which is working on a planned merger with French automaker PSA and is negotiating a four-year labour contract with the UAW.

“We are astonished by this filing, both its content and its timing,” FCA said in a statement. “We can only assume this was intended to disrupt our proposed merger with PSA as well as our negotiations with the UAW.”

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FCA and PSA last month announced the planned 50-50 share merger to create the world’s fourth-largest automaker, seeking scale to cope with costly new technologies and slowing global demand.

GM’s general counsel, Craig Glidden, told reporters at GM’s headquarters that the lawsuit has nothing to do with the planned merger of PSA and FCA and the automaker does not intend to file suit against the UAW.

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