As big-union-protectionist Democrats like Rep. Mary Peltola try to stop Kroger (Fred Meyer) and Albertson’s (Safeway) from merging, as retailers try to compete with Amazon better, the world’s largest retailer is already moving into the 49th state in a big way.
Amazon announced the recent opening of a massive delivery station in Anchorage, marking its first major investment in Alaska. Amazon said in a statement that the midtown Anchorage site, which is 66,000 square feet, started operating in November and is still ramping up.
This is a distribution center that is larger than a football field; it has 100 employees.
As it turns out, the free market is moving faster than lawsuits and regulators trying to interfere with free enterprise.
Alaskans can order all kinds of food through Amazon and have it delivered to their doorstep, whether there’s rain, snow, or sleet.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy praised the entry of the world’s largest retailer into Alaska: “Alaska is open for business, and I’m excited about Amazon’s decision to invest in Alaska. E-commerce has transformed life in the 21st century, and Amazon’s new delivery station in Anchorage helps Alaska capitalize on the jobs and other benefits this growing sector creates.”
It’s not the merger or prices that unions and their main Rep. Mary Peltola are worried about with the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertson’s. The unions are worried about unions and their power over workers.
Interestingly, Amazon is not unionized — not yet, anyway. And although unions and Peltola have said nothing about the massive retail shift this new Amazon distribution system represents, Amazon is going to accelerate the changing marketplace in Alaska by delivering goods even sooner to those on the road system. This will make it even harder for Fred Meyer and Carrs to compete.
The station, located in an old Sears warehouse, is a “last mile” distribution center, where orders arrive and are loaded onto Amazon delivery vehicles. Much like a post office, Amazon employees sort packages by zip code and organize delivery logistics for Amazon and delivery subcontractors
While once Sears was a dominant player in Alaska, but it faded as an empire and was replaced largely by Walmart. Sears has just 12 stores left in the United States, while Amazon, which is majority owned by Jeff Bezos, went from a garage in Seattle to a behemoth that is increasingly moving to robotics for sorting and delivery.
According to some sources, Amazon has more than 100,000 robot workers in warehouses now. A robot worker works 22.8 hours a day every day and only needs an hour or two at the most to recharge batteries. It needs no days off and can work seven days a week. The growing robotic workforce at Amazon is said to have replaced up to 400,000 humans.
“We support more than one million employees around the world who are innovating and working to serve customers in our global fulfillment centers, retail locations, data centers, corporate offices, tech hubs, and headquarters in the Puget Sound region of Washington state and Arlington, Virginia,” Amazon reports.
The Anchorage delivery station has already created more than 100 of full-time and part-time jobs in the region, offering a starting pay of $20/hour, which comes with healthcare benefits, 401K, dental, vision and access to promotion opportunities such as Career Choice. Benefits are available to all employees starting on the first day of employment.
“We are thrilled to welcome Amazon to Anchorage and look forward to seeing the positive impact on our local economy. We are confident that this will be a win-win for both Amazon and Anchorage. We are committed to working with Amazon to ensure that their operations in our city are successful and that they have a positive impact on our residents and businesses,” said Mayor Dave Bronson of Anchorage.
Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than $20 million in the state, including infrastructure and employee compensation, which added more than $15 million into Alaska’s GDP, Amazon said. In 2021, Amazon launched its first Amazon Air gateway at Fairbanks International Airport.
Once the delivery station reaches full operations later this year, Prime customers located in Anchorage can expect faster and more convenient delivery on eligible items available on Amazon.com, the company said.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the state of Washington, where Amazon is located, sued Kroger to stop the merger with Albertson’s. Washington is the home base for Amazon, which also owns Whole Foods Market and delivers its food through Amazon infrastructure. Washington State has a dog in the fight, as it collects taxes from Amazon and seeks to protect that tax base.
Rep. Peltola has been fighting the merger of Kroger-Albertson’s since last summer, along with Joelle Halle, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO who said in a release, “This mega-merger would hurt all Alaskans, but especially the workers at potentially impacted stores. A successful mega-merger would likely lead to store closures and hundreds – possibly thousands – of lost jobs, many of which come with family-sustaining wages, top of the line health insurance, and a pension. Alaskans should be thankful Representative Peltola is speaking up on this issue and defending Alaska consumers and workers from the harmful impacts of a corporate monopoly.”
Peltola is vehemently against the merger of Kroger-Albertson’s: “Alaska already has an incredibly concentrated grocery store market, and potential divestments of stores resulting from the merger would threaten both competition and basic food security in many communities across the state. The five largest jurisdictions by population in Alaska are Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Fairbanks, Juneau, and Kenai-Soldotna. In each of these communities, Fred Meyer (Kroger) and Carrs (Albertsons) are the primary competitors selling groceries and household goods. If the proposed merger goes through, store closures and reduced competition could result in a significantly reduced competition, or even a near-monopolistic landscape in a state that already has some of the highest costs of living in the United States.”
With the entry of Amazon’s massive growth in Alaska, the marketplace has just gone through a radical shift on the Alaska road system. The Federal Trade Commission may give Amazon an even bigger edge by preventing smaller companies from merging in order to compete.
But for now, it appears that the decision from the FTC may be delayed until the Washington State lawsuit plays out, which will give Amazon time to get its foot further in the door in small markets.
As these market forces and regulatory overreach play out, Three Bears, a Wasilla-based grocery chain, has just purchased several more properties in Alaska with the eye on expanding its own footprint.
And Albertson’s announced that with the merger it will sell off all of its Carrs stores in Alaska — but it’s unclear who will buy them.
