DENVER — Attorney General Phil Weiser and Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan held a listening session about a proposed merger with the companies that own King Soopers and Safeway.
Albertsons, which owns Safeway, and Kroger, which owns King Soopers, announced a plan to merge about one year ago.
Khan could be the main federal official to try to block the deal. The trade commission enforces consumer protection laws and guards against unfair business practices, and it's also tasked with reviewing mergers.
Khan could try to block the deal, if she believes it would “substantially lessen competition.”
"I imagine that at some point next year we would reach a conclusion," she told 9NEWS.
While the FTC continues to investigate, she and Weiser heard people's thoughts about the deal.
"You must stop the merger," one person pleaded.
"Workers would lose, and Colorado would suffer," another person said.
United Food and Commercial Workers union members packed the room. Khan asked if anyone wanted to speak in favor of the deal. She scanned the room, at the Mi Casa Resource Center, looking, but no one there supported it.
"It's clear that there's a lot at stake with this merger, the FTC's investigation is ongoing and we haven't made any final decisions, but hearing directly from the people who this deal would affect is absolutely vital," Khan said.
The proposed merger plan includes the companies selling more than 400 stores nationwide, but the CEOs said Kroger will not close any stores, distribution centers or manufacturing facilities.
They also promise not to lay off any frontline employees, and they said a merger will result in lower prices.
King Soopers released the following statement to 9NEWS Wednesday evening:
“To call this a “public listening session” is disingenuous and disheartening. It must have been disappointing to Attorney General Weiser to see his attempt at a public forum co-opted and turned into an anti-merger rally instead of a true public forum representing a broad cross-section of citizens. Even representatives of groups that support King Soopers were silenced by a raucous crowd of out of state interests.
“Only non-unionized retailers, like Walmart and Amazon, will benefit if this merger is blocked. In fact, Kroger joining with Albertsons will mean lower prices for customers, secure union jobs and more food directed to hungry families, with 10 billion meals committed to people in need across America by 2030.”
At least one employee doesn't believe the promises.
“I really don’t because there’s nothing that’s been, all they’ve done is given you guys press releases, they haven’t met with us as a union, they haven’t met with the workers to give us those guarantees," said Tom Olson, a Safeway employee.
The companies said they hope to close the deal in early 2024. If Khan's FTC opposes the deal, she would file a complaint, and then fight in court to stop the merger.
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