Seattle-area grocery workers 'flabbergasted' by Kroger-Albertsons sales plan

Grocery workers for Kroger and Albertsons are denouncing the recently released list of stores to be sold off as part of the merger process. Of the 579 locations nationwide, 124 are in Washington state.

(The complete list of stores is available here.)

"I got a robocall on Tuesday about this," said Brendan Gallagher, a meat wrapper at QFC on Queen Anne, one of the targeted stores. "I was flabbergasted."

RELATED: Kroger, Albertsons are selling 124 grocery stores in Washington

In a statement, Kroger said the plan will ensure that no stores will close, and existing union contracts will continue. Gallagher said he doesn’t buy it.

"They can make that guarantee to us, but they're not going to own us anymore if the divestiture plan goes through," he reasoned. "So, what's their word to us?"

Workers like Gallagher say the issue isn’t just about jobs; it’s also about the buyer, C&S Wholesale Grocers, LLC, a privately held company based in New Hampshire.

Critics aren't convinced that C&S has enough retail experience or the infrastructure to absorb the 579 stores it’s acquiring. Currently, C&S operates just 23 stores under the banners Piggly Wiggly and Grand Union.

RELATED: Washington state AG sues to block Kroger-Albertsons grocery merger

Washington state actually sued to stop the Kroger-Albertsons merger, alleging in part, that C&S "has not demonstrated the ability to successfully and durably operate retail grocery stores, let alone undertake the complicated process of rebannering a number supermarkets it will acquire via the parties’ proposed divestiture."

Jessica Crowley, a pharmacist at Albertsons in Los Angeles, said she's concerned the merger will severely limit people’s access to medications. She noted C&S has only one pharmacy.

"If chain and independent pharmacies with decades of experience can't keep their pharmacies from shutting down, I can guarantee that pharmacies within C&S are doomed to fail," she said.

In announcing the latest divestiture plan, Kroger and C&S have said the updated agreement will provide assets needed to ensure the stores will continue to serve their communities.

RELATED: Are we nearing the end of the grocery store experience?

John Marshall, a financial analyst for UFCW 3000, the union representing grocery workers in the Puget Sound area, pointed to the company’s balance sheet.

"C&S Wholesale Grocers has been losing customers," he said. "Between 2017 and 2023, they experienced a 21.5 percent decline in sales."

The decline, he added, occurred during a period of time when there was significant food price inflation.

The merger is facing a series of legal challenges, including the Washington Attorney General’s Office. A lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission will have its first hearing July 31st.