Vons in Goleta, Albertsons in Lompoc Would Be Sold as Part of Kroger-Albertsons Merger

Albertsons and Kroger, two of the nation’s largest grocery store owners, announced their $25 billion plan to merge in 2022 — making it the largest proposed supermarket acquisition in U.S. history. On Tuesday, the companies released a list of 579 stores across 18 states, including 63 locations in California, that would be sold under their mega-merger.

In Santa Barbara County, the Vons on Turnpike Road in Goleta and the Albertsons at 1500 North H Street in Lompoc are among the locations set to be sold if the merger goes through. 

Kroger and Albertsons have stated that the stores they are divesting from will be transferred to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a New Hampshire–based company. Rodney McMullen, the CEO of Kroger, stated that employees at affected locations will be expected to maintain their employment with C&S, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the proposal in February, alleging that the deal is anticompetitive — potentially leading to higher prices for millions of Americans, narrowing consumer choice, and threatening the ability to secure better wages for thousands of employees. One executive reacted to the proposal, stating that “you are basically creating a monopoly in grocery with the merger,” according to officials within the FTC. 

Kroger has denied such claims made by the Trade Commission, insisting that “C&S and Kroger have each committed that no frontline workers will lose their jobs and no stores will close as a result of the merger.” 

“Today’s announcement changes nothing. The merger is not a done deal, far from it,” stated a coalition of United Food and Commercial Workers local unions in a Tuesday press release. 

“We remain focused on stopping the proposed mega-merger for the same reasons we have stated since it was first announced over 20 months ago — because we know it would harm workers, it would harm shoppers, it would harm suppliers and communities, and it is illegal,” according to the union.

The proposal was rejected in January and February by the Attorneys General of Colorado and Washington, with a bipartisan group of nine attorneys general, including California’s AG Rob Bonta, joining the FTC’s federal court complaint in February. 

The legal challenges to the proposed merger continue to evolve, with hearings beginning at the end of July and scheduled to go through September.