http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hostess-close-cites-nationwide-worker-123953115.html (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hostess-close-cites-nationwide-worker-123953115.html)
QuoteHostess, the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, plans to go out of business, lay off its 18,500 workers and sell its snack cake and bread brands.
The Irving, Texas, company said a nationwide strike crippled its ability to make and deliver its products, which also include Ding Dongs, Ho Ho's and Home Pride bread.
Hostess suspended bakery operations at all its factories and said its stores will remain open for several days to sell already-baked products.
The company 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. The privately held company filed for Chapter 11 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 posted on the company website.
He added that all employees will eventually lose their jobs, "some sooner than others."
"Unfortunately, because we are in bankruptcy, there are severe limits on the assistance the (company) can offer you at this time," Rayburn wrote.
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 said Friday the company is unprofitable "under its current cost structure, much of which is determined by union wages and pension costs."
A union representative did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment on the company's announcement.
Hostess has said that production at about a dozen of the company's 33 plants has been seriously affected by the strike. Three plants were closed earlier this week.
Hostess had already reached a contract agreement with its largest union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
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 also makes Dolly Madison, Drake's and Nature's Pride snacks.
(http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/437/860/468.jpg)
Union Greed sinks another company. Welcome to Obama's America.
Really Indy, You have my utmost respect most of the time but this blame Obama thing is getting old.
I'm sorry your guy lost, I'm sorry you don't like who won. But the UN tanks will not roll nor will we be calling each other Comrade next week.
But you are a historian, a very smart man, and a teacher, how much power does President REALLY have?
Nixon, Reagan, Bush II, and even Clinton swung more weight and did more substantive changes than Obama has so far and with far less opposition, and how much did the country REALLY change? Did we go down the toilet THEN? Why would we do so suddenly now?
The system is set up to keep the Dictators out, and frankly a Republican house, and a right leaning supreme court have and will keep things going centered for another four years and Hey Presto we get another shot at another president. Maybe then the republicans will not put up a clueless semi-Aristocrat and will get it back, maybe not.
Before liberalism gets bandied about, I was huge McCain supporter in 2000 and had he gotten the nomination we'd be a better country now. But I won't support the party of the tea party conspiracy theorists, or ultra rich plutocrats, or some of the racists I'm seeing. I believe in a balanced budget, strong military, and capital punishment. I also believe in taking care of people so they can contribute to society. I DON'T Believe in entitlement, corporate personhood, lobbyist rule, or multigenerational welfare.
Anyway I still consider you a friend and will seek your wisdom any time, but on this we gotta disagree.
Just to get back on topic, I bet the Hostess thing is MORE a lousy corn harvest, high transportation costs, and the bottom dropping out of the semi-synthetic snack market.
Sorry to rant, hope we can be cool.
-Ed
Of course we are. I'm not saying that Obama is directly responsible for Hostess going down, but I do believe that this uber-Union-friendly administration has created a climate where Unions are going to demand more and more, and many companies on the brink will find it cheaper to go bankrupt than to cave in to people whose default setting is always to demand more, no matter whether the company is Union friendly or not.
But think about this . . . the country is legalizing pot, and TWINKIES are out of business? There is a conspiracy afoot!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiPeDyVbLGw
The Unions deserve much of the blame but the products weren't as popular as they once were.
I heard this afternoon that The Teamsters backed down, but the Bakers union wouldn't.
I heard a rumor that it was actually the Wonder Bread branch that was losing money.
I've also heard speculation that this strike stemmed from a previous compromise in 2006...... Meaning, they already are/ still are blaming Dubya, thus lending some credence to Indy's Bamster comment. :tongueout:
Quote from: indianasmith on November 16, 2012, 10:56:14 PM
Of course we are...
But think about this . . . the country is legalizing pot, and TWINKIES are out of business? There is a conspiracy afoot!!!!
I'm glad to hear that. I respect the heck out of you.
On that same note... I don't know why the head of Papa John's is so anti legal pot. In the old days I knew guys who could clear 3 pizzas a Friday night.
-Ed
Surely someone will continue to manufacture the snack cakes and fruit pies. Otherwise, how on earth are superheroes going to stop all the third-rate villains with their plans to slightly inconvenience the public?
I've always been a Little Debbie person, myself.
Still, I wouldn't mind seeing Moon Pies & Uncle Al's Stage Planks get some recognition.
Quote from: AndyC on November 16, 2012, 11:54:09 PM
Surely someone will continue to manufacture the snack cakes and fruit pies. Otherwise, how on earth are superheroes going to stop all the third-rate villains with their plans to slightly inconvenience the public?
ceo was on CNBC yesterday talking about the Bakers Union, etc
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000129674&play=1#eyJ2aWQiOiIzMDAwMTI5ODU2IiwiZW5jVmlkIjoicVJ3NnFHOFNseGtCUnFmTmRtSWhHQT09IiwidlRhYiI6InRyYW5zY3JpcHQiLCJ2UGFnZSI6IiIsImdOYXYiOlsiwqBMYXRlc3QgVmlkZW8iXSwiZ1NlY3QiOiJBTEwiLCJnUGFnZSI6Miwic3ltIjoiIiwic2VhcmNoIjoiIn0=
Quote from: Ed, Ego and Superego on November 16, 2012, 10:46:09 PM
Really Indy, You have my utmost respect most of the time but this blame Obama thing is getting old.
So THIS explains why Wonder Bread was a dollar a loaf yesterday at Shop Rite. It's the beginning of the Big Sell Off!!
I haven't had a Twinkie in years but it'll be sad to see them pass into history. Anyone else remember years ago when Twinkies, Cup Cakes, etc. used to have baseball cards printed on the bottom of the boxes? My brother and I used to pester the hell out of my Mom to buy Twinkies just so we could get the cards. Haha.
From what I've been able to gather, the Hostess company has had problems with mismanagement for quite some time (this was not their first go round with bankruptcy) so even if they'd been able to settle with the union this time out, they probably would've only held off the inevitable for a little while longer anyway.
I believe what truly makes this O'Bama's America, is the number of numbnuts desperate enough to think they can get rich selling the last box of Twinkies on Ebay. :bluesad:
Quote from: indianasmith on November 16, 2012, 10:09:00 PM
Union Greed sinks another company. Welcome to Obama's America.
Can we not fight, and just mourn Hostess? -_____-
I'll be honest- I never like Twinkies, nor Sno-Balls. They tasted like crap to me.
Quote from: indianasmith on November 16, 2012, 10:56:14 PM
But think about this . . . the country is legalizing pot, and TWINKIES are out of business? There is a conspiracy afoot!!!!
If they had legalized pot years ago, Twinkies would not be in dire straits. You wouldn't even be able to keep them on the shelves.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Ding_dongs.jpg/220px-Ding_dongs.jpg)
I hate the idea of losing Ding Dongs! They're one of the best snack cakes ever made. When I became diabetic,I missed Dr Pepper and Ding Dongs the most. Diet DrPepper is nasty and there are no sugar-free Ding Dongs. Sigh!
I have some respect for the good unions have done but it does seem to me that they have gone overboard in their control. A bunch of trucks carrying supplies were turned away from New York after the hurricane because their drivers weren't union....how does that help anyone?
Quote from: indianasmith on November 16, 2012, 10:56:14 PM
Of course we are. I'm not saying that Obama is directly responsible for Hostess going down, but I do believe that this uber-Union-friendly administration has created a climate where Unions are going to demand more and more, and many companies on the brink will find it cheaper to go bankrupt than to cave in to people whose default setting is always to demand more, no matter whether the company is Union friendly or not.
But think about this . . . the country is legalizing pot, and TWINKIES are out of business? There is a conspiracy afoot!!!!
What's wrong with legalizing a plant? Wouldn't this decrease the killings for drugs? Portugal did this and the murder related drug wars decreased dramatically. :question:
Quote from: Mofo Rising on November 17, 2012, 12:33:31 PM
You wouldn't even be able to keep them on the shelves.
Can't keep them on the shelves now, so the end result is the same.
Ba Dump Bump.
I think Indy's right.
This is starting to sound like a ploy to make more kids develop a craving for vegies in their school lunches.
Quote from: El Misfit on November 17, 2012, 01:38:24 PM
Quote from: indianasmith on November 16, 2012, 10:56:14 PM
Of course we are. I'm not saying that Obama is directly responsible for Hostess going down, but I do believe that this uber-Union-friendly administration has created a climate where Unions are going to demand more and more, and many companies on the brink will find it cheaper to go bankrupt than to cave in to people whose default setting is always to demand more, no matter whether the company is Union friendly or not.
But think about this . . . the country is legalizing pot, and TWINKIES are out of business? There is a conspiracy afoot!!!!
What's wrong with legalizing a plant? Wouldn't this decrease the killings for drugs? Portugal did this and the murder related drug wars decreased dramatically. :question:
Quote from: El Misfit on November 17, 2012, 01:38:24 PM
Quote from: indianasmith on November 16, 2012, 10:56:14 PM
But think about this . . . the country is legalizing pot, and TWINKIES are out of business? There is a conspiracy afoot!!!!
What's wrong with legalizing a plant? Wouldn't this decrease the killings for drugs? Portugal did this and the murder related drug wars decreased dramatically. :question:
Somewhere there sits, quiet and forlorn, a joke not gotten, it's life unfulfilled, saddened by what the world around it has become.
They must be partying at the King Dons HQ
As cannabis sativa has been integrated into this topic....
I wonder how long it will be until a federal judge with a transparent agenda is sent to Colorado for the sole purpose of declaring that the voters were wrong, just like they did with gay marriage in California.
Grass has been legal here in The Commonwealth of Virginia since the 1970s, but you wouldn't know it, or at least the police don't know.
And try telling an FBI agent, "Hey, it's legal in this state, even if it's not legal in this country!"
Don't get me wrong; I'm for it, I just can't see the federal government taking it like grown-ups.
Actaully Hostess CEO Brian Driscoll gave himself to a 300 percent pay increase. Corporate greed killed Hostess.
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981760866
What is Accrued Workers' Compensation Liabilities?
Corporate Greed may have been a factor in bringing them to the brink, but the final nail was the refusal of the bakers to go along with the deal everyone else took.
Soooooooooooo.........................
Now that we know that Hostess has been hemorrhaging assets for the past nine years, I have to ask.......
Why would anybody think Hostess was a company worth sticking with? Or that these jobs were worth Keeping, let alone, why the unions would think these jobs were worth fighting over?
f**k Hostess-I can get an off name fruit pie for less money-a Hostess Fruit pie is like half empty-I buy one-all the fruit is at one end-all you get is crust!
I bet the brand name gets sold to some big corparation....
f**k Hostess.Twinkies and such will still be out there....pot heads keep that industry alive!
lilc- I think the bakers think they can get the deal they want from the buyer, whoever that may be.
Quote from: RCMerchant on November 18, 2012, 06:07:45 PM
f**k Hostess-I can get an off name fruit pie for less money-a Hostess Fruit pie is like half empty-I buy one-all the fruit is at one end-all you get is crust!
I bet the brand name gets sold to some big corparation....
f**k Hostess.Twinkies and such will still be out there....pot heads keep that industry alive!
That's about the size of it, as far as consumers are concerned. Hostess products are pretty much all branding. They don't have any big trade secrets. Other companies can, and do, put creamy filling into yellow spongecake and chocolate cupcakes. There are any number of rival and knock-off snack cakes that are as good or better than Hostess.
And, being in Canada, I grew up with Vachon, and still tend to prefer their snack cakes.
The cream filling used to be banana flavored, but in WWII, they couldn't get bananas, & they never changed it back.
I think I'll get some Uncle Al's Banana Planks!
Quote from: LilCerberus on November 18, 2012, 08:01:02 PM
The cream filling used to be banana flavored, but in WWII, they couldn't get bananas, & they never changed it back.
I think I'll get some Uncle Al's Banana Planks!
Good luck defeating a supervillain with those.
They're going bankrupt because they make the worst-tasting junk food on the planet.
Twinkies were never good as far back as I can remember. I clearly remember having Mom buy me some because I saw them in Ghostbusters, and thinking the first one I ate was utterly disgusting. Not only did it taste bad, it made my throat burn and my stomach upset. Our dog wouldn't even eat them. However, vile as they are, Twinkies can't hold a candle to those gross, pink snowball things. They should be relabeled as hazardous waste. Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, those godawful mini-muffins and cupcakes, and even their superhero endorsed fruit pies all tasted like sewage with sugar on it.
Good riddance, I say ... at least until whomever buys the brand names reintroduces them.
So, I take it you're a Little Debbie fan, like myself.....
Quote from: akiratubo on November 18, 2012, 10:16:30 PM
They're going bankrupt because they make the worst-tasting junk food on the planet.
Twinkies were never good as far back as I can remember. I clearly remember having Mom buy me some because I saw them in Ghostbusters, and thinking the first one I ate was utterly disgusting. Not only did it taste bad, it made my throat burn and my stomach upset. Our dog wouldn't even eat them. However, vile as they are, Twinkies can't hold a candle to those gross, pink snowball things. They should be relabeled as hazardous waste. Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, those godawful mini-muffins and cupcakes, and even their superhero endorsed fruit pies all tasted like sewage with sugar on it.
Good riddance, I say ... at least until whomever buys the brand names reintroduces them.
Quote from: LilCerberus on November 18, 2012, 08:01:02 PM
I think I'll get some Uncle Al's Banana Planks!
I hope NEVER to think the phrase "Uncle Al's Banana Plank" ever again. Somehow that just creeped me right out.
-Ed
I will miss HOSTESS Cupcakes the most. Especially the ones with the orange icing. One of the best sugar rushes out there!
I haven't had a Hostess product in years. Now, there's no chance that I'll ever have another. :(
I never liked Twinkees....
Heres a DIY version:
http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2012/11/twinkies/
must watch if you're interested in this
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000130327
guy from bakers union. I hate unions, but he seems pretty cool
This morning the radio said the judge wouldn't grant Hostess permission to liquidate everything yet. He ordered Hostess and the union to try to work it out. Maybe there's still hope?
(Anyone else heard about this? An online article would be appreciated.)
The company is being run by maniacs.
Most establishments are.
Quote from: lester1/2jr on November 20, 2012, 07:23:30 PM
The company is being run by maniacs.
Tonight's news said mediation failed. Hostess is going to ask the judge for permission to auction off their assets in the morning. :bluesad:
Damn: I never once got the chance to taste a Twinkie.
It's being run by maniacs who don't even care if they succeed. maniacs in the capitalist sense. Corporatist hedge fund weirdies
Quote from: Trevor on November 21, 2012, 04:11:56 AM
Damn: I never once got the chance to taste a Twinkie.
You're not missing much. They're only slightly more appealing than your undies, and likely less nutritious.
Wasn't a lot of the slime effect in THE THING (and other movies of that era) done with one of the ingredients of Twinkies? I may be remembering wrong, but I think that's what Carpenter/Bottin said on the commentary...that stuff is used for the slimy, oozie stuff.
Maybe in ALIEN, too?
That's more of a claim to fame for Twinkies to me.
Oddly enough, just as all this Twinkie brou-ha-ha was blowing up, I happened to catch a pretty funny Twinkie reference in the otherwise terrible movie "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance." The bad guy, who I believe is named "Carrion," has the power to make things die and decay just by touching them. At one point he's pursuing Ghost Rider in a stolen truck and he notices a lunch box sitting on the passenger's seat. He takes a sandwich out of it, and it instantly crumbles to dust in his hand. He picks up an apple - same thing. Finally he grabs a Twinkie out of the box... and nothing happens to it. Haha. He actually sat there for a second or two as if he were waitin' for it to crumble and when it didn't he shrugged like "cool" and popped it into his mouth. :teddyr:
Quote from: Trevor on November 21, 2012, 04:11:56 AM
Damn: I never once got the chance to taste a Twinkie.
You missed nothing. They're plain tasting nothingness.
Quote from: Trevor on November 21, 2012, 04:11:56 AM
Damn: I never once got the chance to taste a Twinkie.
I was about to rush out to send you some - when I saw a news report that confirmed that Hostess Canada will not be affected. So they will continue to crank out Twinkies in Canada. Add that to the list entitlted "Trevor's reasons to visit Canada". :wink:
There are better reasons to visit Canada.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Jos_Louis.jpg)
Red velvet cake, cream filling and a chocolate coating. Beats the hell out of any Hostess cake.
Quote from: AndyC on November 23, 2012, 10:17:13 AM
There are better reasons to visit Canada.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Jos_Louis.jpg)
Red velvet cake, cream filling and a chocolate coating. Beats the hell out of any Hostess cake.
And these Andy:
(http://ilikefood.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/wunderbar.jpg)
The reincarnation of the classic Star Bar....sigh..
Careful guys: we'll need to start a 'Canadian Treats Worth Visiting For' thread. :wink:
Quote from: indianasmith on November 16, 2012, 10:56:14 PM
Of course we are. I'm not saying that Obama is directly responsible for Hostess going down, but I do believe that this uber-Union-friendly administration has created a climate where Unions are going to demand more and more, and many companies on the brink will find it cheaper to go bankrupt than to cave in to people whose default setting is always to demand more, no matter whether the company is Union friendly or not.
But think about this . . . the country is legalizing pot, and TWINKIES are out of business? There is a conspiracy afoot!!!!
Wow, Indy; you've either been smoking legalized pot or twinkies...neither of which are good for you.
Let me give you some actual background on IBC, the Hostess company, so that you might understand things a little better rather than jumping to your anti-union, blame the black guy conclusion all of a sudden.
IBC (Interstate Brands Corporation) has Hostess, Wonder Bread, Butternut, Dolly Madison among other bakery brands. They are also in competition for not only the record for the most bankruptcies for any company within the last 10 years, 2 such bankruptcies back to back, but also the poster child status of the most incompetently run company of the decade at least; and they are also the top bakery products provider to grocery stores seconded by Sara Lee.
Only a few years ago, on their second bankruptcy in a row, the Bakers' Union took a 30% wage cut and drivers had to return their first $1000 in commissions to the company to pull them out of bankruptcy, while the ceo and corporate officers, those who have mismanaged the company through bankruptcy after bankruptcy, rewarded themselves and lined their pockets.
And that's union greed? It must be the twinkies you are smoking. :buggedout:
IBC has more than earned their nickname of Idiot Baking Company within the industry. They are horribly mismanaged by people who take no cuts themselves but keep putting it off on the workers, and how many cuts can workers take? They took a 30% cut just a few years ago, would you work for half of what you made only 10 years ago?
Their liquidation has unfortunately been interrupted. Their best course of action is to liquidate. Hostess is not going anywhere, but it would be a hell of a lot better being managed by someone else rather than continuing in the hands of people who have run the company into the ground and want to impose yet another wage cut on the workers to pay for their incompetence.
But hey, keep blaming the black guy if you want. It's been a popular thing to do for years...why should we bother to evolve now? :tongueout:
We just better hope that bankrupt doesn't go Hostess!
Quote from: Newt on November 23, 2012, 03:17:56 PM
Careful guys: we'll need to start a 'Canadian Treats Worth Visiting For' thread. :wink:
I don't know how reading that put me in the mood for poutine, but it did.
Trevor, do you have Little Debbie in South Africa? Because if so.....
(http://saveyspender.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Little-Debbie-Cloud-Cakes.jpg)
It's basically LD's Twinkies. :smile:
Interesting.
Certainly, an iconic company that has been around as long as I can remember. Of course, it is not the only iconic company that has been in bankruptcy, or may go into bankruptcy.
Kodak, which is synonmous with Rochester, New York, has just come out of bankruptcy, as a leaner and we hope meaner company.
And J.C. Penny's is still struggling and may be forced to go into bankruptcy.
Of course, for every iconic failutre or how not to do something, there is at least one iconic success story or how to do something.
Apple, of course.
McDonald's. the largest fast food chain in the world, and which did much to change how people eat worldwide.
Wal-Mart, the largest retail chain in the world, and which did much to change how people shop worldwide.
And the Walt Disney Company, now the largest entertainment company in the world, and while someone else would have probably gotten there sooner or later, changed how the world looked at entertainment. Not bad for a company that basically started as two men making movie cartoons in their uncle's garage.
As for Hostess, reading in the "WSJ," there are companies interested in buying at least parts of it, at reduced prices, to expand their own scope of operations.
Stay tuned for further developments.
Justto fan the flames more:
http://gma.yahoo.com/bankrupt-hostess-execs-bonuses-094718695--abc-news-topstories.html
Apparentlly the execs get bonuses....
-Ed
In today's world, execs get bonuses regardless of what happens. Kinda like politicians!
or basketball players.
Last night I went to an art exhibit. They were serving light refreshments. There was a basket of individually wrapped Twinkies and HoHos, each one marked "Rations." I thought it was kind of funny.
I grabbed a Twinkie and ate it, the first one I've had since I was a teenager. I liked them back then. This one, while edible, was pretty nasty. I should have just stuck with my faulty memories of Twinkies being good...
If you stick you Ding Dong in a Suzy Q's Ho-Ho you'll get Twinkies and that's the Zinger.
exclusive! 25 minute movie about Hostess from one of the bakers there. I know the guy a little bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ-z2QyZjh8&feature=youtu.be
Quote from: CheezeFlixz on December 01, 2012, 04:17:54 PM
If you stick you Ding Dong in a Suzy Q's Ho-Ho you'll get Twinkies and that's the Zinger.
Haha!
Ok, here's another little goodie from the past..
One day
Mr. Goodbar decided he wanted a
Bit O' Honey. So he took her behind the
Powerhouse where he felt her
Mounds, and they were pure
Almond Joy.
"Oh, Henry!" she cried as she squeezed his
Nutty Buddy, and his
Bazooka fired. 9 months later they were the proud parents of
Baby Ruth.
As if noone here hasn't heard this one before, :wink: