Proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger draws criticism from Los Angeles city leaders

A proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger is facing opposition from some Los Angeles city councilmembers as they say the move is anti-competitive and could affect grocery prices and employment. 

Five council members gathered at a Friday morning news conference saying they are "unequivocally opposed" to the mega-merger which would impact 579 stores, including 63 stores in California, primarily in Southern California. 

The $25-billion merger was announced in October 2022 and is still in progress, facing some challenges with the Federal Trade Commission – the same issues presented by council members. 

The commission claims the $24.6 billion merger would lead to higher grocery prices through a reduction in marketplace competition and it could also potentially negatively affect workers. 

Earlier this year Kroger sent out a memo to its employees at affected stores, notifying them of the plans to sell the locations to C&S Wholesale Grocers if the merger goes through. 

The 63 California stores include 15 Albertsons locations, 31 Vons locations, 16 Pavilions locations and one Safeway. 

All employees are expected to be able to maintain their employment with C&S, officials said, as no stores, distribution centers or manufacturing facilities would be closed. 

In fact, the company said that "customers will benefit from lower prices and more choices" through the merger. 

Council member Traci Park and her colleagues refuted the company's position. 

"Worse, if the merger does succeed, we don't know what will happen to the 14 stores across Los Angeles that are slated to be sold to the C&S  Wholesale Grocers," Park said. "A chain which has no history of operating supermarkets in Los Angeles." 

She called the merger short-sighted with short-term gains, and said "there is no guarantee that the stores once sold, won't close, that we won't lose their union labor and that the underlying real estate won't be sold from underneath for future development."  

Park also thanked the grocer's union UFCW Local 770 for fighting the merger. 

Councilwoman Heather Hutt expressed her concerns. "The rising prices of groceries is hard on all of us. However as a city, we must work to protect our vulnerable," Hutt said.  

Other stores listed for sale include 124 markets in Washington, 101 in Arizona and 91 in Colorado. 

The 63 California stores to be sold to C&S  Wholesale Grocers: 

• Vons — 5671 Kanan Rd, Agoura Hills 
• Pavilions — 9467 W Olympic Blvd, Beverly Hills 
• Pavilions — 1110 W Alameda Ave, Burbank 
• Vons — 301 N Pass Ave, Burbank 
• Vons — 820 Arneill Rd, Camarillo 
• Vons — 6951 El Camino Real, Carlsbad 
• Vons — 3439 Via Montebello, Carlsbad 
• Albertsons — 200 E Sepulveda Blvd, Carson 
• Vons — 185 E 17th St, Costa Mesa 
• Pavilions — 11030 Jefferson Blvd, Culver City 
• Albertsons — 33601 Del Obispo St, Dana Point 
• Vons — 2606 Del Mar Heights Rd, Del Mar 
• Albertsons — 2899 Jamacha Rd, El Cajon 
• Albertsons — 7201 Yorktown Ave, Huntington Beach 
• Albertsons — 16600 Bolsa Chica St, Huntington Beach 
• Vons — 500 E Manchester Blvd, Inglewood 
• Vons — 3233 Foothill Blvd, La Crescenta 
• Pavilions — 7544 Girard Ave, La Jolla 
• Vons — 78271 Hwy 111, La Quinta 
• Pavilions — 600 N Pacific Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach 
• Albertsons — 1500 N H St, Lompoc 
• Vons — 1820 Ximeno Ave, Long Beach 
• Vons — 11322 Los Alamitos Blvd, Los Alamitos 
• Albertsons — 3901 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles 
• Vons — 3118 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles 
• Vons — 3461 W 3rd St, Los Angeles 
• Vons — 1430 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles 
• Vons — 6571 W 80th St, Los Angeles 
• Vons — 4033 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Studio City 
• Vons — 18439 Ventura Blvd, Tarzana 
• Vons — 7789 Foothill Blvd, Tujunga 
• Vons — 6040 Telegraph Rd, Ventura  
• Pavilions — 29211 Heathercliff Rd, Malibu 
• Vons — 410 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Manhattan Beach 
• Pavilions — 4365 Glencoe Ave, Marina del Rey 
• Vons — 2039 Verdugo Blvd, Montrose 
• Albertsons — 730 Quintana Rd, Morro Bay 
• Albertsons — 541 S Reino Rd, Newbury Park 
• Pavilions — 2660 San Miguel Dr, Newport Beach 
• Pavilions — 1000 Bayside Dr, Newport Beach 
• Albertsons — 9022 Balboa Blvd, Northridge 
• Vons — 17380 Sunset Blvd, Pacific Palisades 
• Albertsons — 42095 Washington St, Palm Desert 
• Albertsons — 1751 N Sunrise Way Ste 1, Palm Springs 
• Vons — 4733 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs 
• Pavilions — 7 Peninsula Ctr, Palos Verdes Peninsula 
• Albertsons — 804 Avenida Pico, San Clemente 
• Pavilions — 989 Avenida Pico, San Clemente 
• Pavilions — 3850 Valley Centre Dr, San Diego 
• Vons — 11986 Bernardo Plaza Dr, San Diego 
• Vons — 1702 Garnet Ave, San Diego 
• Vons — 2495 Truxtun Rd Ste 100, San Diego 
• Safeway — 1499 Washington Ave, San Leandro 
• Vons — 1440 W 25th St, San Pedro 
• Vons — 163 S Turnpike Rd, Santa Barbara 
• Vons — 9643 Mission Gorge Rd, Santee 
• Pavilions — 1101 Pacific Coast Hwy, Seal Beach 
• Pavilions — 14845 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks 
• Albertsons — 543 Sweetwater Rd, Spring Valley 
• Vons — 25850 The Old Rd, Stevenson Ranch   
• Pavilions — 6534 Platt Ave, West Hills 
• Pavilions — 8969 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood 
• Albertsons — 23893 Clinton Keith Rd, Wildomar