Workers Fired the Boss! Kroger and Albertsons CEOs Both Step Down Following Failed Merger
On March 3, 2025, CEOs of both Kroger and Albertsons abruptly stepped down. Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen suddenly resigned after an investigation into his personal conduct found he violated the company’s ethics policy, while Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran announced his retirement.
It’s no coincidence that both CEOs are stepping down at the same time. McMullin and Sankaran led Kroger and Albertsons into a failed merger that wasted billions of dollars instead of listening to workers and investing in stores.
A coalition of local unions worked together to defeat what would have been one of the biggest corporate mergers in US history. Workers defeated Kroger and Albertsons by so much that they decided to replace the CEOs. That’s worker power in action.
Rodney McMullen resisted raising worker wages while making 500 times the average Kroger employee. Now that these CEOs are gone, Kroger and Albertsons can choose to continue prioritizing executive wealth or finally invest in the workers who make our grocery stores run.
No matter who's in charge, we're building the power to win what we deserve: better wages, better staffing, and better stores. The same workers who defeated their monopoly merger are bargaining new contracts this year — and we're ready to fight like hell to win.
