California has unsealed a 16-page filing detailing "egregious" price-fixing evidence against Amazon. The state alleges the e-commerce giant pressured major brands like Levi’s and Hanes to force competing retailers to hike their prices. Attorney General Rob Bonta claims internal documents provide a rare look into how Amazon maintains its $2.66 trillion empire by suppressing online competition. These unredacted emails suggest Amazon punished sellers who offered lower prices on rival sites like Walmart or Target.
The filing highlights a 2022 exchange where a Hanes employee told Amazon they "reached out to Target and Walmart" to increase prices after Amazon complained. In another instance, an Amazon employee flagged "styles of concern" to Levi’s regarding cheaper pants on Walmart’s site. Levi’s subsequently confirmed Walmart agreed to raise prices to $29.99 as a "test for the best interest of the marketplace." These communications allegedly allowed Amazon to maintain higher margins without being undercut by competitors.
Amazon also reportedly threatened to delist products from suppliers if it was losing money by matching a rival's lower price. One example involved an ice cream maker from Maxi-Matic, which Amazon removed because it was priced significantly lower elsewhere. Maxi-Matic responded by telling Amazon it had "put Best Buy out of stock" to resolve the issue. Given Amazon's dominance in online retail, suppliers viewed these delisting threats as a major risk to their business survival.
The company maintains it prioritizes offering customers the lowest possible prices and calls the filing a distraction. Amazon spokesperson Mark Blafkin dismissed the evidence as "supposedly new" data the state has possessed for years. However, this litigation mirrors a 2023 Federal Trade Commission lawsuit accusing Amazon of illegally maintaining a monopoly. The FTC previously settled a separate case regarding Prime cancellations for $2.5 billion, signaling increased federal and state appetite for tech sector penalties. California has requested a judge stop these practices while the antitrust lawsuit proceeds toward a trial scheduled for 2027.
