PESP applauds FTC for rejecting Kroger merger with private equity-owned Albertsons

Group calls it a win for consumers and workers; Albertsons owner Cerberus recently received a failing grade in first-ever labor scorecard 

Statement by Justin Flores, Labor-Jobs Director at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP), on the FTC lawsuit against the Kroger merger with PE-owned Albertsons:

“This is a win for consumers, a win for competition and a win for workers. The private equity owner of Albertsons pulled billions out of the company last year amid rising grocery prices, disregarding the risks posed by the merger. The FTC made the right decision, and we applaud them for this important action.”

Shortly after the deal was announced in October 2022, Albertsons announced a $4 billion dividend payout to investors, $1 billion of which went to Albertsons owner and private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management. Although the merger was required to go through an antitrust review process and multiple lawsuits by Attorneys General, the dividend payout was allowed to proceed.

In November 2023, PESP released the first-of-its-kind Private Equity Labor Scorecard, which found a consistent pattern of hazardous and damaging labor practices within the industry. The report also finds that the practices of the firms adversely affect employees and their livelihoods, including dangerous working conditions, layoffs, and more. 

Cerberus, the owner of Albertsons, received a failing grade. The report found:

“Cerberus had the worst performance in several scorecard metrics. Cerberus-owned companies represented the most significant mass layoffs of all the private equity firms in the report, with 13.04 layoffs per every 1,000 employees. Cerberus-owned companies also had the highest number of reported serious OSHA violations, with 0.29 serious violations per every 1,000 employees. A serious violation exists when the workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm.”

You can see the scorecard here: pestakeholder.org/pe-labor-scorecard