On one side are supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons, which say their planned merger will help them compete against rivals like Costco. On the other side are antitrust regulators from the Federal Trade Commission, who say the merger would eliminate competition and raise grocery prices in a time of already high food price inflation.

Supermarket chain Albertsons told a federal judge Monday that it might have to lay off workers, close stores and even exit some markets if its planned merger with Kroger isn’t allowed to proceed.

Kroger is taking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to court after it blocked a major grocery chain merger between Kroger and Albertsons.