The Safeways in Kenai and Soldotna are included in a list of 18 Alaska locations that may be sold under a proposed corporate merger between Albertsons, which owns Safeway, and Kroger, which owns Fred Meyer.
Since October 2022, the two corporations have been working on a merger that’s drawn the ire of both the Federal Trade Commission and members of Alaska’s congressional delegation who argue the move is anticompetitive and could lead to rising grocery prices.
In response to concerns by federal and state regulators, the two companies announced in April a divestiture package that would see the companies sell stores and other assets to a third company, C&S Wholesale Grocers, to “bolster their position in regulatory challenges.” The divestiture will only move forward if the companies, Kroger and Albertsons, are allowed to complete their merger.
There are 18 Alaska Carrs and Safeway stores that could be sold if the deal goes through. Other Kenai Peninsula Safeways in Homer and Seward are not on the list.
“No stores will close as a result of the merger,” Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen says in the release. “All frontline associates will remain employed, all existing collective bargaining agreements will continue, and associates will continue to receive industry-leading health care and pension benefits alongside bargained-for wages.”
C&S owns Piggly Wiggly, and in a September release about an initial purchase agreement — which didn’t include Alaska stores — said they were excited to expand into the retail market, writing that they have experience transitioning in union employees and their collective bargaining agreements. Safeway employees at the Kenai and Soldotna locations are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1496.
Court proceedings are ongoing. The FTC, in bringing forward the challenge, wrote that the merger will eliminate competition, leading to higher prices and other harms to both consumers and workers. A union newsletter says that the first hearings are expected to begin Aug. 26 in Oregon.
U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski released a joint statement Feb. 26 celebrating the FTC’s suit to block the merger. Peltola said that town hall discussions she organized in Alaska were cited by the FTC as a driver in their decision.
“From the get-go, Alaskans have been the most outspoken about their concerns about corporate consolidations and monopolies, because Alaskans have the most to lose,” Peltola said. “I’m thrilled by this lawsuit and this big win for Alaska’s groceries.”
Similarly, Murkowski said that Alaskan voices were being heard nationally in the conversations surrounding the merger.
“This announcement will come as a relief to countless Alaskans. From the potential for even higher grocery prices to longer-term store closures, there were just too many unknowns and uncertainties for this merger to move forward.”
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Peltola and Murkowski both said last week that they continue to support the FTC’s effort to block the merger.
Murkowski wrote Thursday, July 11, that doubts surrounding the merger “have only intensified” as Alaskans “see their neighborhood grocery stores on the list.”
“C&S Wholesale Grocers are untested and untried in Alaska, and have no experience working with local labor unions,” she wrote. “My efforts to protect Alaskans from the negative consequences of this merger are far from over.”
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
