Kroger

Reasons to avoid

1. Kroger's rollout of a new payroll system in 2022 resulted in approximately 47,000 employees receiving missed, late, or incorrect paychecks for months, with some workers going weeks without any pay at all. The company settled four resulting class action lawsuits for $20.8 million in 2025 without admitting wrongdoing.classaction.org2024-12-04
2. In September 2023, Kroger agreed to pay up to $1.2 billion to settle claims by states, subdivisions, and Native American tribes over its role in the opioid crisis through its pharmacy operations. The settlement, spread over 11 years, was one of the largest opioid-related agreements reached by a grocery chain.sec.gov2023-09-08
3. The FTC and nine state attorneys general sued to block Kroger's proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons, arguing the merger would eliminate competition and raise prices for millions of grocery shoppers. A federal judge granted the injunction in December 2024, and Kroger abandoned the deal.ftc.gov2024-02-26
4. In 2018, Kroger pledged to eliminate single-use plastic bags from all of its stores by 2025, which it said would remove 123 million pounds of plastic waste annually. By the end of 2024, only around 700 of its 2,750 stores had followed through, while smaller chains like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Aldi had already completed the same transition.modernretail.co2025-01-13