General Motors Co. announced the filing of a federal racketeering lawsuit against FCA and former FCA executives who have pled guilty in an ongoing federal corruption probe. The lawsuit, filed Nov. 21, claims to expose “a multi-year pattern of corruption that FCA used to undermine the integrity of the collective bargaining process and cause GM substantial damages.”

In a press release, GM stated at the core of this lawsuit are “clear admissions of wrongdoing made by former FCA executives revealed through the continuing criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Michigan.

“This lawsuit is intended to hold FCA accountable for the harm its actions have caused our company and to ensure a level playing field going forward,” said Craig Glidden, GM executive vice president and general counsel.

GM accuses FCA of corrupting the 2009 collective bargaining agreement, as well as the 20011 and 2015 agreements, causing harm to GM.

FCA issued a brief response to the GM statement on its website:

“We are astonished by this filing, both its content and its timing. We can only assume this was intended to disrupt our proposed merger with PSA as well as our ongoing negotiations with the UAW. We intend to vigorously defend against this meritless lawsuit and pursue all legal remedies in response to it.”