2 dozen Alaska legislators join opposition to Kroger-Albertsons merger plans

Almost half of the Alaska Legislature has signed a letter opposing a merger of two grocery chains that could lead to hundreds of layoffs and the closure of local stores.

On Oct. 2, 24 of the Legislature’s 60 members asked the chair of the Federal Trade Commission to block the impending $24.6 billion merger of Kroger and Albertsons.

The combination of Kroger — which owns Alaska’s 12 Fred Meyer stores — and Albertsons, which owns 35 Safeway grocery stores in the state, could limit competition in Alaska, driving up prices.

“We cannot, in good conscience, support unnecessary cost increases that place barriers on Alaskans’ ability to put food on the table,” the letter said in part.

The lawmakers opposing the merger include Republicans like Sens. Robert Myers, R-North Pole, and Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage; as well as Democrats like Rep. Donna Mears, D-Anchorage, and Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau.

Labor unions have opposed the merger, as has U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, also sent a letter to the head of the Federal Trade Commission in late September, asking the federal agency to review the agreement.

[Alaska senators raise ‘deep concerns’ about Albertsons-Kroger merger in letter to Biden administration]

“We write to express our deep concerns about the agreement and the potential impacts the proposed merger will have on Alaskans. There are simply too many unanswered questions and unforeseen consequences over the horizon should this merger be approved,” Murkowski and Sullivan said.

Last month, Kroger and Albertsons said they would sell 413 stores — including 14 in Alaska — to a New Hampshire-based firm as part of the merger process.

That’s intensified concerns here because of what happened when Safeway bought Alaska-based Carrs grocery stores in 1999 for $330 million.

The state of Alaska required that seven Carrs stores be sold to a competitor as part of the deal, but six of those stores — bought by Alaska Marketplace — closed within a year, leaving local residents with fewer options for groceries.

“As you are well aware,” the state legislators told the FTC chair, “Alaska is isolated from the rest of the lower 48, and when decisions are made that ignore Alaska’s unique economy, we feel it directly and almost immediately, which can translate into significant unintended consequences for our citizens.”

Originally published by the Alaska Beacon, an independent, nonpartisan news organization that covers Alaska state government.