G.M. Sues Fiat Chrysler, Accusing It of Bribery in Union Talks

General Motors on Wednesday accused its rival Fiat Chrysler in a federal lawsuit of manipulating contract negotiations with the autoworkers union to hurt G.M.

In a complaint filed with the United States District Court in Detroit, G.M. claimed Fiat Chrysler bribed officials at the United Auto Workers union to gain competitive advantages in contract negotiation conducted in 2011 and 2015.

Three former Fiat Chrysler officials have previously pleaded guilty to a range of charges related to their use of money that had been set aside for a training center that company ran with the union. Several U.A.W. officials have also pleaded guilty to various charges. The Federal Bureau of Investigations recently raided the home of the union’s president, Gary Jones.

G.M.’s lawsuit asserts that the effort to manipulate union talks was authorized by Fiat Chrysler’s chief executive at the time, Sergio Marchionne, who died in 2018, and was carried out by its former head of labor relations, Alphons Iacobelli, who pleaded guilty and is now serving a five-and-a-half year sentence in prison.

“The lawsuit exposes a multiyear pattern of wrongdoing by former F.C.A. executives revealed through the continuing criminal investigation by the U.S.,” G.M. said in a statement. The company did not sue the union, which recently reached a new agreement with G.M. after a 40-day strike and is in the middle of negotiating a new contract with Fiat Chrysler.

In a statement, Fiat Chrysler said it was “astonished” by the lawsuit. “We can only assume this was intended to disrupt our proposed merger with PSA as well as our negotiations with the U.A.W.,” the company said, referring to its deal with the maker of Peugeot and Citroën cars. “We intend to vigorously defend against this meritless lawsuit and pursue all legal remedies in response to it.”

In the suit, G.M. claimed Fiat Chrysler gained competitive advantages through the union’s agreement to support its long-term business plan and a major overhaul of its manufacturing system. The lawsuit also says that the union agreements allowed Fiat Chrysler to hire more temporary workers at entry-level wages than G.M.

G.M. said in a conference call that it was seeking “substantial damages” but did not specify an amount. The company said it would reinvest the money into its operations in the United States.

GM has battled Fiat and Mr. Marchionne in court before.

The two companies were partners in the early 2000s, when Mr. Marchionne was Fiat’s chief executive. Fiat had the right to force G.M. to acquire Fiat through what is known as a put option. Mr. Marchionne sought to force G.M. to pay Fiat not to exercise the option, which G.M. contested in court. In the end, G.M. paid Fiat $2 billion to settle the matter.

This is a developing story and will be updated.