DENVER — A looming legal battle that could have broad consequences for Coloradans regarding where and from whom they get their food begins next week.
The Colorado Attorney General's Office will make its case in court next Monday against the multi-billion dollar merger between grocery store chains Kroger and Albertsons.
The merger was announced back in 2022 and since then, different communities have filed lawsuits to stop the merger, essentially putting the merger on pause until a judge rules on whether to stop or allow the mega-merger.
"What I'll tell you about this case is it's all about Coloradans access to healthy, fresh, local food, and to make sure that grocery stores don't become even less competitive than today," said Attorney General Phil Weiser in an interview with Denver7 Thursday.
Weiser's office filed their lawsuit to block the merger earlier this year.
"This merger would concentrate a market and create a mega grocery store that would be able to raise prices, have less variety," he said. "When I was out in the Western Slope, from the Palisade peach growers, they said, 'We have two companies competing to offer Palisade Peaches today. If those two companies merge, they're not going to have the same competitive pressure to offer our products on the shelves.'"
It's not just consumers who are about what the merger will do to food prices. The possibility of the two chains merging together has also raised major concern among employees.
"There's over 710,000 workers that are involved in this merger," said Kim Cordova, the president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 Union.
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She said the proposed merger gives her a bad case of déjà vu.
"In 2015, when Safeway and Albertsons merged, it resulted into over, you know, roughly 43 stores closing across Colorado, creating food deserts. Workers lost their positions," said Cordova.
Kroger officials have repeatedly said they will not close stores, they plan to sell 91 locations to a separate grocery company, C&S, in an attempt to bring in more competition.
"If Kroger and Albertsons claim that they have to merge to compete with Amazon and Walmart, how is C&S going to compete?" said Cordova.
Kroger representatives have said associates will remain employed and existing collective bargaining agreements will be honored.
"Those commitments are not legally enforceable. They're not subject to legal oversight. They are literally paper promises," said Weiser.
Kroger officials did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday, but have released a statement to Denver7 in the past regarding the lawsuit:
"We look forward to defending in court how the combination of Kroger and Albertsons will provide meaningful, measurable benefits, including lower prices and more choices for families across the country and more opportunities for stable, well-paying union jobs.”
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