Washington, D.C. — Today, Diana Moss, Vice President and Director of Competition Policy at the Progressive Policy Institute, released the following statement in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) lawsuit to block the Kroger-Albertsons merger.
“PPI applauds the Commission for moving to block the merger of two of the largest grocery chains in the U.S. The FTC’s enforcement action protects consumers and workers from a colossal loss of head-to-head competition that would hit them directly in their wallets and paychecks.
“The Kroger-Albertsons merger follows years of systematic consolidation in grocery markets that has been overseen by the FTC. Higher grocery prices, lower wages and benefits, a loss of quality and service, and food ‘deserts,’ have added to the burden of high inflation and loss of worker bargaining power. The FTC’s complaint to block the Kroger-Albertsons merger advances the importance of antitrust enforcement that recognizes harms in both labor and consumer markets.
“Additionally, the FTC explains its decision to decline Kroger’s and Albertsons’ inadequate divestiture proposal. It calls out the failed divestitures that followed in the wake of the 2015 merger of Safeway and Albertsons, making clear that the Kroger-Albertsons merger is ‘too big to fix.’ The most effective remedy for restoring lost competition in a merger that is ‘too big to fix’ is to block it.”
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org.
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Media Contact: Amelia Fox – afox@ppionline.org
