Groundwork’s Lindsay Owens Praises FTC Suit to Block Kroger-Albertsons Merger

Groundwork’s Lindsay Owens Praises FTC Suit to Block Kroger-Albertsons Merger

More corporate concentration in the food industry will lead to higher prices, lower wages for workers

Today, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the merger between grocery retailers Kroger and Albertsons, which would create a massive new grocery retailer that would control 22% of the retail food market, and result in two giant grocers (Kroger/Albertsons and Walmart) controlling more than 70% of the grocery market in over 160 cities. Groundwork Collaborative Executive Director Lindsay Owens reacted with the following statement:

“Grocery store mergers are the absolute last thing Americans facing high prices at the check-out line want to see. The FTC is absolutely right to block it, preventing these grocery giants from joining forces to raise costs, shrink competition, and squeeze workers and consumers even further.”

Email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to speak with one of Groundwork’s experts about grocery prices and consolidation in the food industry.

Background

• A Groundwork report found that families are now paying 25 percent more for groceries than they were before the pandemic, outpacing overall inflation. The report recommended antitrust enforcement against further mergers and consolidation in the food industry, like the Kroger-Albertsons merger.
• A FTC study found that mergers in the grocery industry, like the Kroger-Albertsons merger, were most closely associated with a 2 percent increase in prices.
• Washington state’s attorney general sued to block the Kroger-Albertsons merger, revealing in the lawsuit that both companies have strategies to hike prices in local markets where there is less competition.
• Analysis from the Economic Policy Institute found that 746,000 workers in over 50 metro areas would likely see their wages fall due to the merger.