Ever since Amazon opened its first Amazon Go cashierless convenience store to the public at the start of 2018, its executives have been brushing off questions about whether they planned to introduce the same technology to Whole Foods. Sometimes those brushoffs were outright denials, like in this New York Times account, while other times executives claimed they had “no plans...for now” to add the tech to Whole Foods. Today, though, Amazon admitted it is rolling out the tech to two Whole Foods stores, as a first step while it gauges customer reaction. There can be little doubt this is the beginning of the end for cashiers in Whole Foods. And this was almost certainly the plan all along.

It’s hardly surprising Amazon would lie, or at the very least, obfuscate about its plans. While there are surely plenty of shoppers who will appreciate skipping grocery store lines, and investors who will applaud a cost-cutting move, this guarantees a bitter battle with labor unions and progressives already hostile to Amazon’s power. As this Wall Street Journal article last month outlined, the antitrust team assembled by President Biden is likely to prioritize the needs of “suppliers, small business and workers” over consumers. That means lower prices—or free services—aren’t enough to justify a company’s power if it hurts workers or small businesses.