If they actually cared about safety and consistency, they would make mask wearing required for everyone. But they don't care about consistency because they argued at first that everyone should have their own choice, and they don't care about safety because they are now banning usage of PPE. The article states that In-In-Out's statement was about being able to see people's faces, not uniform consistency. The article also mentions a specific location that was shut down due to vaccine mandate violations, which corporate appears to have supported, which has nothing to do with uniform consistency and everything to do with some very specific political nonsense. Your argument really doesn't hold water, and it should be a serious offense to prevent a worker from using safety equipment. Especially safety equipment that has a good chance of keeping them from having to use any sick days (do they even get sick days?).
One company buying another is always anti-competitive. The literal definition of removing competition.