By Jaewon Kang and Leah Nylen | Bloomberg
Kroger Co. released the full list of stores, distribution centers and plants — including 63 supermarkets in California — that it plans to divest to secure approval for the proposed merger with Albertsons Cos.
The companies have started notifying staff at affected locations, Chief Executive Officer Rodney McMullen wrote in a memo to employees on Tuesday.
Workers, a majority of them in Southern California, will become employees of C&S Wholesale Grocers after the transaction closes, McMullen wrote, and will remain as Kroger and Albertsons staff until then. C&S has committed to transferring pay and health plans and assuming all collective bargaining agreements, he added.
Related: Kroger-Albertsons merger could upend 164,000 workers in Southern California
The grocers, which announced their $25 billion merger in October 2022, are sharing the list ahead of a trial expected in August that will decide the outcome of their deal.
Kroger and Albertsons agreed to sell a package of stores and other facilities to C&S, boosting the number to 579 from 413 in April after the Federal Trade Commission blocked the tie-up. The divestment sale was valued at $2.9 billion in April.
The list also includes 124 stores in Washington state, 101 in Arizona and 91 in Colorado, among others. Most of the California stores are in Southern California.
See also: Kroger and Albertsons CEOs give details on controversial $25 billion merger
The divestment package also includes a dairy plant in Colorado, as well as six distribution centers across four states.
Together, Kroger and Albertsons have nearly 5,000 stores across the country, including banners like Kroger, Ralphs, and Harris Teeter as well as Albertsons, Safeway, Acme and Jewel-Osco.
Kroger and Albertsons say they need the merger to compete with larger, non-unionized rivals Amazon.com, Walmart and Costco. The companies have pledged to invest $500 million to cut prices and $1 billion to raise…
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