PORTLAND, Ore. - The federal government urged a U.S. District Court judge on Tuesday to temporarily prevent a proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons, saying in closing arguments the combination would “almost certainly” benefit shareholders and not everyday shoppers.
U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson must now decide whether to grant the injunction while the FTC's anti-trust complaint goes goes before an in-house administrative law judge. Nelson said she would work “expeditiously” on her decision, but she didn't say when she would rule. But Wolf pushed back, saying Kroger and Albertsons were competing for the same customers as retailers that have lower labor costs because their workers aren't unionized.Kroger has said it plans to invest $1 billion in lower prices, if the merger goes through. Wolf said the company would focus on lowering prices “from day one.”
FTC attorneys have noted that the two supermarket chains currently compete in 22 states, closely matching each other on price, quality, private label products and services like store pickup. Shoppers benefit from that competition and would lose those benefits if the merger is allowed to proceed, they said.