Washington, D.C. — The American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement in response to reporting from Bloomberg, which revealed that Uber, the parent company of Uber Eats, is seeking to acquire Postmates for $2.65 billion.

“There is no reason to support an Uber-Postmates merger,” said Economic Liberties’ Executive Director Sarah Miller. “Uber and Postmates’ business model is built on the exploitation of restaurants, workers, and consumers. Along with GrubHub and Doordash, Uber and Postmates charge exorbitant fees, steal tips, mislead customers, harm workers, and drain revenue from restaurants already struggling with the growing impact of COVID-19.”

“Worse still, Uber and Postmates brazenly flout laws designed to protect consumers and small businesses. Postmates, for example, is currently refusing to comply with delivery fee caps passed in five major cities that are meant to protect struggling restaurants from their predatory behavior,” added Miller. “The Federal Trade Commission should refuse to rubber stamp this power grab.”

###  

Economic Liberties works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. AELP believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.