Cantwell Joins Legal Effort to Protect Consumers by Blocking Kroger-Albertsons Merger

08.05.24

Cantwell Joins Legal Effort to Protect Consumers by Blocking Kroger-Albertsons Merger

Amicus brief urges federal district court to grant a preliminary injunction on consolidation of two major PNW grocery chains. Merger could raise grocery prices at 300+ Albertsons and Kroger stores in WA

SEATTLE, WA -- Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell joined 27 of her Congressional colleagues in filing an amicus brief urging the Federal District Court for the District of Oregon to grant the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) request for a preliminary injunction in the Kroger-Albertsons merger case. The brief outlines three major concerns with the merger: harm to consumers, harm to workers, and the growing consolidation of grocery chains leading to monopolistic practices.

"If the Court does not grant a preliminary injunction to halt the merger, harm to workers is likely to occur and will be felt immediately. Based in part on amici's experience with past mergers, the proposed merger is likely to result in job losses, lower wages, and worse working conditions," the lawmakers wrote.

"Any claims that the proposed merger will result in lower prices for consumers or higher wages and better working conditions for workers is not plausible. Amici have not observed a single merger of competing supermarkets that has ever resulted in cost savings that were subsequently passed on to their constituents in the form of lower grocery bills."

The amicus brief can be read in full HERE.

The FTC's current challenge to the Kroger-Albertsons merger, which threatens 617 stores nationwide, charges that the proposed deal will eliminate competition, leading to higher prices and lower quality products at stores. These negative impacts were seen in 2015 when Albertsons merged with Safeway resulting in store closures and higher consumer costs. Kroger has indicated it plans to sell 124 stores in Washington state if the deal closes.

A potential Kroger-Albertsons merger would also limit employment competition, reducing workers' ability to negotiate higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions. For that reason, the FTC has focused this case on the likely harm to nearly 100,000 unionized grocery workers.

Finally, the merger is part of a larger trend toward consolidation in the supermarket industry. The U.S. currently has one-third fewer grocery stores than 25 years ago. Aside from the direct threats this poses to consumers and workers, it gives large grocery chains monopoly power to disadvantage smaller, independent grocers and farms.

This case is currently being heard by the Federal District Court for the District of Oregon where the FTC has requested a preliminary injunction.

Since the Kroger Company announced its intent to acquire Albertsons Company, Inc. in 2022, Sen. Cantwell has been sounding the alarm on how the merger could harm consumers and workers alike. In November 2022, Sen. Cantwell and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) sent a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan flagging the potential impacts in Washington state: The 337 Albertsons and Kroger grocery stores in Washington represent 21.5 percent of the state's total grocery stores. In their letter, the senators emphasized that the merger could undercut market competition and result in store closures that force worker layoffs and create food deserts within the state. They cited the 2015 merger of Albertsons and Safeway - as a condition of that merger, the companies were required to sell 150 stores to another company that later filed for bankruptcy. Albertsons reacquired some of those stores, undercutting a key objective of preserving competition in spite of the merger. That history, the senators wrote, "does not bode well for another Albertsons merger."

The brief filed today was led by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07). It was also signed by Representatives Becca Balint (VT-At Large), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-01), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Cori Bush (MO-01), Greg Casar (TX-35), Jesus G. "Chuy" García (IL-04), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson (GA-04), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Summer Lee (PA-12), Ted W. Lieu (CA-36), Jerry Nadler (NY-12), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Mary Sattler Peltola (AK-At Large), Katherine Porter (CA-47), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Adam B. Schiff (CA-30), Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08), Adam Smith (WA-09), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Nikema Williams (GA-05) and Senators Jacky Rosen (NV) and Elizabeth Warren (MA).

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