Kroger Albertsons merger: Chians head to federal court to defend merger plan, decide fate of Mariano’s, Jewel Osco [Video]

Kroger and Albertsons will defend their plan to merge – and try to overcome the U.S. government’s objections – in a federal court hearing scheduled to begin Monday in Oregon.

The two companies proposed what would be the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history in October 2022. They say joining together would help them rein in costs and better compete with big rivals like Walmart and Costco.

But the Federal Trade Commission sued to try to block the deal, saying it would eliminate competition and raise grocery prices in a time of already high food price inflation. The commission also alleged that quality would suffer and workers’ wages and benefits would decline if Kroger and Albertsons no longer competed with each other.

The FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction that would block the merger while its complaint goes before an in-house administrative law judge. In a three-week hearing set to …