Twinkies maker Hostess going out of business

IRVING, Texas The maker of the iconic U.S. snack Twinkies said Friday it is going out of business and laying off all of its 18,500 workers after a national strike crippled its operations.

The company, founded in 1930, was fighting battles beyond labor costs. Competition is increasing in the snack space, and Americans are increasingly conscious about healthy eating.

Hostess Brands had warned employees that it would file a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to unwind its business and sell assets if plant operations didn't return to normal levels by Thursday evening.

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Hostess posted a statement on a corporate Web site Friday morning, saying "The Company determined on the night of Nov. 15 that an insufficient number of employees had returned to work to enable the restoration of normal operations."

The privately held Texas company filed for protection in January, its second trip through bankruptcy court in less than a decade.

"Many people have worked incredibly long and hard to keep this from happening, but now Hostess Brands has no other alternative than to begin the process of winding down and preparing for the sale of our iconic brands," CEO Gregory F. Rayburn said in a letter to employees.

He added that all employees will eventually lose their jobs, "some sooner than others."

• Twinkies maker: Liquidation decision expected Friday
• Twinkies maker Hostess Inc. files for bankruptcy

Thousands of members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union went on strike last week after rejecting in September a contract offer that cut wages and benefits. Hostess had already reached a contract agreement with its largest union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Hostess has said that production at about a dozen of the company's 33 plants had been seriously affected by the strike. Three plants were closed earlier this week.

The company also said "The wind down means the closure of 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, approximately 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores throughout the United States."

Published reports and social media sites said that news of Hostess' demise had sparked a run on Twinkies and other company products. According to FoxNews.com, hundreds of Twinkie-related items, including unopened boxes and novelty items such as lunchboxes, baseball cards and magnets, were available for sale on eBay Friday.

[Chi_townBones]

http://youtu.be/rzPcWVB6RoM

[Chi_townBones]

http://youtu.be/rzPcWVB6RoM

[omen1314]

You are indeed correct its the same here in Britain.

Payment and wage increases to the rich are getting really out of control.

No wonder there are riots all over Europe and in London last yerr.

Its only the tip of the iceberg.

If this were 14th century France they would all be getting their heads chopped off a la Madame Guillotine...

Well there is still time...
Poor folks can only take so much for so long before the pot boils over and there is more of us than there is of them , something they so forget whilst they are creaming off the top and making the poor man poorer...

[dustincooley84]

Workers did not agree to the 8% wage and benefit cut because they already did that! It would actually be an 16% cut in total. Unions did the right thing, standing by their workers. Dont forget, unions get paid by employed member dues!I doubt they want these people to lose their jobs but some times morals mean more. It was a bad company model for this day in age. Workers would have lost their jobs eventually any way. At least they will have unemployment benefits for a bit. People are asking where the govt help was by comparing this to the bail out. Sorry twinkie makers, but if you fail, the rest of the country will move on, unlike the bail out where the govts hands were tied and they had no choice. Sorry workers, you had a bum deal any way you turned. Consider yourself lucky you dont work for such a crap company anymore and try to better yourselves the best you can. GOOD LUCK IN ALL YOU DO!!

[cabezon305]

"At least they will have unemployment benefits for a bit." See, that is messed up... they had jobs, and maybe they were crappy paying jobs - but they were jobs nonetheless... and now people that get paid MINIMUM WAGE will be paying for these clowns unemployment benefits out of their paychecks. I'm done to pay money out of my pocket to help people that got laid off - but I personally wouldn't give a dime to someone that did a strike and lost their job as a result of it. They should have found another job while working their twinkies job... now they get a paid vacation while I work my butt off.

[mscott29692000]

Yes I agree with JOHNNY333333 -- the top dogs made their money and then some! Kicking out the middle class again! The rich keep getting richer and of course they don't pay as much tax as the working class! The sad part is all the working class loses their pensions, but i bet the VP, EVP's and CEO doesn't. Had nothing to do with the Unions! Though the Union should help all of these people find another job! Since the workers paid union dues all those years. It should count for something!

[Letsbeindependent]

I feel so bad for the workers that will lose their pension. I am a business owner only because of the poor choices I made when I was young. To make a long story short I was 22 with four felonies and nobody would give me a job. I had to learn how to survive by being an entrepreneur. I really think America has become to complacent and dependent on the government and big corporations. it was a struggle for me when I first started but six years later I am very successful and don't have to work much anymore. I just want to say this to motivate some of you, my heart and prayers go out to you. hundred and 50 years ago most of our ancestors had their own business. Pull that entrepreneurial side out on you and make something work so you're not depending on a corporation or government. use this time to think and be resourceful, lean on your period. Find something you always love to do and make it profitable. You can become wealthier than you ever imagine if you just stay proactive and focused. God bless you and good luck through these hard times. Remember to enjoy your family because what good does it do to be wealthy and not know your family. Most of these CEOs have sacrificed a lot. Don't forget if you are still younger and have the ambition and desire you too can become a CEO. You must educate your self and be willing to make the sacrifices. These sacrifices may be not hardly knowing your family, your kids grow up and you don't make it to their sporting events because you are out of town. Most CEOs don't know their wife's very well and have a higher divorce rate. Remember don't be envious about other peoples lives or want what they have, enjoy what God is giving you. A lot of times more money does mean more problems. Again you can have what the CEOs have if you are willing to make the sacrifices but are the sacrifices worth it? good luck in your future ventures and may you always be independent, God-fearing, and willing to further educate yourself.

[pals23]

It's just a shame on the both parties, that they couldn't come to an agreement. In a case like this NO one wins the company is out of business make no money and the employees are out of a job at a time when jobs are scarce.
Consumer's no long have a product available to them. It seems like no one wins this one.
What about the retirees what happens to their pensions?
Everyone loses

[brianb7]

Why is it legal for corporate CEO's to take all the profit from a business and then put the business into bankruptcy?

[fannielou2]

They are not a government-owned company. Basically, they can do what they want. In this case, they could have continued operation, but the Union has out-foxed themselves. The union had a choice and made a bad decision out of greed. There job was to protect the employees and keep them employed...this is another case of failure on the part of the dictatorial union.

[sjj1222]

Welll Vulture Capitalism isn't going out of business.

Romney's gone, but vulture capitalism lives on. Hostess Brands, the company that makes Twinkies, Ding Dongs and other desserts, filed for court permission to go out of business ---blaming a worker strike for the shutdown.?The Wall Street hedge fund managers who run the company have squeezed every cent out of Hostess for eight years. And they've put their friends with no experience in the baking industry in high-level management positions ?What's happening here is a classic Bain Capital-style assault—blame the little guy to cover the greedy corporate policies that are gutting the middle class.?It's not just happening to the workers who make the great products Americans love. What's happening at Hostess is happening to workers all over this country. It's wrong. And it has to stop.?Crony capitalism and poor management drove Hostess into the ground, not the workers who are now paying the price. In this struggling economy, the greedy corporate executives are willing to let 18,000 people lose their jobs—just so they can pad their pockets.?Hostess' executives are now blaming workers who've offered their company multiple concessions and want it to succeed. This is what's wrecking our country.?Workers have borne the brunt of bad decision-making by executives who didn't know anything about the baking business. And they're the ones getting fired??These brave workers need to know we stand with them—and we'll stand with everyone who will take a stand against the corporate race-to-the-bottom.?Hostess workers are being scapegoated because they are standing up to corporate greed.?Hostess' executives are now blaming workers for poor decisions they made that drove Hostess into the ground.What's happening here is a classic Wall Street tactic—blame the little guy so that they can cover their greedy corporate policies that are gutting the middle class. Sign this pledge to stand with Hostess workers and against the tide of corporate greed wrecking our economy. http://act.aflcio.org/c/18/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=5109

[erasmus111]

Mathion replies:
Please tell me what the point of having a job is if working 60 hours a week doesn't even meet the cost of basic necessities? Or you work 39 hours and don't get full time benefits? Or you work split shifts seven days a week with no overtime and not enough time to sleep? Or you work at a job that encompasses three different jobs, but aren't paid anything more for the extra labor or expertise?

What about the wonderful saying, "You're overqualified" when they deny you a job? What about the discrimination that always happens when you go in and they see you're over 40? What about the need to have expertise in three different fields in order to qualify to even apply for the job?

Yeah, there are "jobs" for the asking, if you're not picky about whether you'll have a place to live, food on the table and clothing on your back. If you don't care about being treated with any regard for the fact you're a human being. If you can fit a unique skill-set that would challenge Wonder Woman or Superman. If you're young enough, skinny enough, tall enough and ALREADY HAVE A JOB (Because they discriminate against people who have been out of work for a while, too!)

With an employer's market out there, you're slave labor. The fallacy of your argument is that "what you can get" will actually support you. The overwhelming majority of them won't, even if you're living in a damn car.

Try living on minimum wage in any town in the U.S. In most places, a month of 40 hour weeks at minimum wage won't even pay the rent, let alone the electric bill, gas bill, water bill, sewer bill, trash bill, maintenance costs grocery bill (Even if all you eat is Ramen), car insurance or public transit costs (to get to and from work) or a pay-as-you-go plan phone.

And that doesn't even include Internet or cable costs (Assuming you do that kind of thing to break the relentless nature of all work and nothing else.) Entertainment consists of watching the traffic rumble by.

Have you tried to find work lately?

I already know that the answer to that is no. Otherwise you wouldn't be posting such inane drivel.

=================

Blah, blah, blah.

I live in Canada. Our economy is doing fairly well. Lots of jobs.

If you don't have a job, and you are out of money, you take whatever you can get. Something is better than NOTHING.

One thing I hate is WHINING.

[fannielou2]

I agree...whining is a no winner. You can usually make your salary meet ends , but it might not cover the cellphones for the entire family, beer, cigarettes, satellite radio and television, cable, vacations, new cars (and the list goes on).

[fannielou2]

I agree...whining is a no winner. You can usually make your salary meet ends , but it might not cover the cellphones for the entire family, beer, cigarettes, satellite radio and television, cable, vacations, new cars (and the list goes on).