Hostess is going out of business because it could not meet union demands, Twinkie maker Hostess asks to liquidate:
9:02AM EST November 16. 2012 – INDIANAPOLIS — Hostess Brands, maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread said Friday that it has filed a motion in Bankruptcy Court seeking permission to close and sell its assets, including its iconic brands.The company says it has suspended bakery operations, but deliveries will continue and Hostess retail stores will stay open to sell products already in the pipeline.Hostess workers remained on picket lines across the country Thursday night, refusing a company ultimatum to return to work or face the liquidation of the national baker.The company had warned it would file a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to shut operations if enough workers didn’t end their weeklong strike by 5 p.m. ET Thursday.A shutdown would result in the loss of about 18,000 jobs.”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 Rayburn said in a letter to employees posted on the company website.
The unions deny any responsibility:
The company will now be forced to close its 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores throughout the U.S.The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union pushed back against the Rayburn blaming the liquidation on the unions.“The truth is that Hostess workers and their Union have absolutely no responsibility for the failure of this company. That responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of the company’s decision makers,” Frank Hurt, BCTGM International Union President, said in a separate statement released on Wednesday.
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