Kroger was dealt a big blow in February when, 16 months after the company first announced plans to acquire its competitor Albertsons, the Federal Trade Commission and eight states sued to block the $25 billion merger between two of the country’s largest supermarket chains.
The FTC asserted that the deal would eliminate the "fierce competition between Kroger and Albertsons,” which consumer groups worried would lead to higher grocery prices and union job losses during a time of sustained food inflation. “In some regions, such as in Denver, the combined Kroger/Albertsons would be the only employer of union grocery labor. Union grocery workers’ ability to leverage the threat of a boycott or strike to negotiate better CBA terms would also be weakened,” the FTC said in a press release.
