![](\"https:\/\/static.foxbusiness.com\/foxbusiness.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/albertsons-store-employee-california.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
FOX Business’ Ashley Webster reports on Atlanta\u2019s first government-funded grocery store, where millions in taxpayer-backed loans are fueling a bold experiment to address food deserts.<\/p>\n
Albertsons is closing additional stores and cutting jobs nationwide as it works to stabilize operations following the collapse of its $24.6 billion merger with Kroger, intensifying pressure on the grocery chain.<\/p>\n
The Boise, Idaho-based company \u2013 which operates banners including Safeway, Vons and Pavilions \u2013 has announced a new round of closures in recent weeks as it pivots to cost-cutting and operational changes.<\/p>\n
The company has closed roughly 20 stores in 2025, underscoring mounting pressure as it competes with larger rivals such as Walmart and other low-cost operators.<\/p>\n
In Southern California, Vons stores in Escondido and Redlands will close in April, eliminating 135 jobs. An Albertsons store near Riverside, California, shut down in March, cutting 75 workers, while a Safeway in Northern California closed earlier this year, affecting 76 employees.<\/p>\n
GROCERY GIANT KROGER TO CLOSE 60 STORES IN NEXT 18 MONTHS<\/p>\n
An employee stocks food inside an Albertsons grocery store in San Diego, California. (Bing Guan\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The cuts extend beyond the West Coast. Two Albertsons-owned stores in North Texas are set to close by late April, impacting 138 workers, and a Safeway in Washington, D.C., is slated to shut down in May, eliminating 87 positions.<\/p>\n
Industry analysts say the closures reflect ongoing fallout from the blocked Kroger merger, which Albertsons had framed as key to achieving scale and competing more effectively on pricing.<\/p>\n
In response, the company is leaning on cost reductions and technology investments, including automation and artificial intelligence, as digital sales grow \u2013 often requiring fewer in-store workers.<\/p>\n
A worker pushes shopping carts outside an Albertsons supermarket in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Bridget Bennett\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Albertsons is also facing investor skepticism, with its stock down over the past year.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the legal fight that killed the merger is still playing out. California and a coalition of states are seeking more than $10 million to cover the cost of blocking the deal.<\/p>\n
Shoppers walk outside an Albertsons grocery store on February 26, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Regulators argued the merger would reduce competition and raise grocery prices. A federal judge agreed in 2024, halting what would have been the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history.<\/p>\n
Kroger and Albertsons spent roughly $1.5 billion pursuing the deal, underscoring the scale of the failed tie-up.<\/p>\n
CLICK HERE TO GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO<\/p>\n
Now operating independently, Albertsons is navigating a more competitive grocery landscape while restructuring its footprint and workforce to adjust to shifting consumer demand and margin pressure.<\/p>\n
Reuters contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
#Albertsons #cuts #stores #jobs #fallout #failed #Kroger #merger #deepens<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FOX Business’ Ashley Webster reports on Atlanta\u2019s first government-funded grocery store, where millions in taxpayer-backed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[6851,842,1288,1985,5571,310,1085,5653,1726],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2973"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2973\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}