The CEOs of the Kroger and Albertsons supermarket chains defended their proposed $20 billion merger at a Senate subcommittee hearing Tuesday, and vowed to keep prices low and protect workers’ jobs if the deal passes
from elected officials, independent retailers and some union groups over its potential impact on workers’ jobs, as well as on industry competition and food prices for consumers. Some lawmakers in Washington have said they worry the merger could hinder competition, including Amy Klobuchar , the Senate subcommittee’s chair.
Mr. McMullen said the combined entity intends to keep prices low and won’t lay off any front-line workers in stores, warehouses and manufacturing facilities as part of the merger. He added that price cuts would start immediately, and that the companies expect to invest $500 million over four years on that effort.Albertsons’s Mr. Sankaran said that his company determined that merging with Kroger represented the best way to compete against Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.
Kroger and Albertsons are working with the FTC to determine the number of stores the companies may need to sell to secure approval for their deal. The chains have said they expect the regulatory review process to take as long as two years, with the deal closing in early 2024. In grocery-sector deals,on examining market share and overlaps in specific geographic regions.
A group of state attorneys general has asked Albertsons to delay a $4 billion dividend payment, announced when the companies agreed to their merger, until antitrust officials finished reviewing the deal. The attorneys general have said the dividend could hurt Albertsons’ ability to compete with Kroger and other grocers, particularly if the deal doesn’t go through.
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