KINGMAN — Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays held a public meeting in Kingman to hear how the merger of Kroger and Albertsons will affect the community and concerns residents have about the union. rice field.
Kroger is the parent company of the Smiths grocery chain in Lake Havasu City. Albertsons, who in 2015 acquired the Safeway chain, operates his two grocery stores in Havasu. The proposed merger would put all three stores under the same owner.
About 50 community members, store employees and elected officials attended Wednesday’s meeting at Mojave Community College’s Kingman Campus.
Mayes is traveling across the state to decide whether to file a lawsuit to block the merger.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office released an antitrust investigation into the merger in February, and Mays said the merger could violate Arizona’s antitrust laws. Attorneys General of Illinois, Washington, California and the District of Columbia have filed lawsuits in response to the merger.
“The law essentially says whether a combination of several, several, or more companies harms consumers in such a way that they must act to disapprove of that combination.” says Mayes.
Albertsons and Kroger have announced a proposed merger in October 2022. The companies said he expects to complete the $24.6 billion deal by early 2024.
The stores employ more than 35,000 people statewide and have 250 stores throughout Arizona, Mays said. Safeway is part of Albertsons, Smith’s is part of Kroger, and he is two of the top six employers in the state.
“We are starting to reach monopoly status,” says Mayes. “We’re starting to get things like consolidation of power that start to look like monopoly utilities, and that’s very concerning.
City Hall was one of several sessions held by the office to hear input from communities that could be particularly affected by the proposed merger, particularly rural Arizona.
In Kingman, city officials said the merger would adversely affect local labor, supply and demand, and affect the city’s ability to attract new business, as the community lacks retail and grocery stores. I am concerned that it is possible.
“Competition is healthy for our economy,” said Kingman Mayor Ken Watkins.
Employees worry that the merger will result in shorter work hours, longer lines and the expectation of doing more work for less money.
Amy Stryker said, “I know in my heart that whatever happens at the end of the day, I will have a job, but I will lose my position as a manager.
Safeway and Smith employees worry that the merger will change their union. I don’t know.
“But what kind of union is there, you see them being pushed out the bottom or pushed out the door,” Joe Eroro said.
As inflation continues to affect consumers, community members are worried about what will happen to grocery prices when there is no competition in Kingman and Mojave County.
Mojave County supervisor Gene Bishop said the number of local food bank customers has steadily increased since the pandemic.
Grocery stores are among the major donors to food banks, so even the potential closure of one store can have a negative impact on those most in need.
“Gifts will be reduced,” Bishop said.
Mayes told the River City Newspapers that he was surprised to learn how far people had to travel to buy groceries and how busy each store was on a normal day.
The Attorney General’s Office plans to host five more city halls before deciding whether to file lawsuits. Mayes expects a decision to be made in six to nine months.
“I’m really worried about some stores already having long lines,” says Mayes. “And you have to ask, ‘What was the impact?’ The first negative impact is if one or more of those stores were closed.”
