TEAMSTERS CALL ON FTC TO REJECT KROGER-ALBERTSONS PROPOSED ASSET SALES TO C&S

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters strongly opposes the sale of any assets of Kroger [NYSE: KR] or Albertsons [NYSE: ACI] to C&S Wholesale Grocers as proposed in the companies' September 2023 divestiture plan submitted to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The Teamsters, representing more than 22,000 members at Kroger and Albertsons nationwide, urge the FTC to reject C&S as a buyer.

"Kroger and Albertsons management has told everyone and anyone that no union members will lose their jobs, contracts, or hours if this merger goes through. Those promises mean nothing if they sell parts of either company to C&S," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. "We're not going to let any company put Teamster jobs at risk. Make no mistake—this deal is as anti-union as it gets if C&S ends up owning any part of Kroger or Albertsons."

Under the proposed divestiture plan, the union estimates 1,200 Teamster jobs would likely disappear in the first weeks and months following the asset transfers, regardless of the eventual buyer. These estimates reflect displaced grocery distribution volume from Teamster-represented distribution centers servicing the remaining Kroger and Albertsons stores to those being sold. 

"C&S has driven one grocery business after another into the ground for 30 years. This anti-union company has just one playbook when it comes to acquiring Teamster companies or grocery distribution contracts where our members work: close it down, bail on pensions, and move the work to one of their nonunion sites," said Tom Erickson, Teamsters Central Region International Vice President and Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division. "The proposed plan by Kroger-Albertsons is unacceptable and we urge the FTC to reject it."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:
Daniel Moskowitz, (770) 262-4971
dmoskowitz@teamster.org

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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters