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Twinkies maker Hostess going out of business

jamesrage

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An example of union greed going to far.


Twinkies maker Hostess going out of business- MSN Money
Hostess Brands, the bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, said it has sought court permission to go out of business after failing to get wage and benefit cuts from thousands of its striking bakery workers.

Hostess said a national strike by members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union that began last week had crippled its ability to produce and deliver products at several facilities.

The liquidation of the company will mean that most of its 18,500 employees will lose their jobs, Hostess said on Friday.

The 82-year-old company said it took the decision to shut down after determining that not enough employees had returned to work by a deadline on Thursday.

The company, which filed for bankruptcy in January for the second time since 2004, said it had filed a motion with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, for permission to shut down and sell assets.

The Irving, Texas, company has 565 distribution centers and 570 bakery outlet stores, as well as the 33 bakeries. Its brands include Wonder, Nature's Pride, Dolly Madison, Drake's, Butternut, Home Pride and Merita, but it is probably best known for Twinkies -- basically a cream-filled sponge cake.

"We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," Chief Executive Gregory Rayburn said in a statement.

"Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders," Rayburn added.
 
Or. An example of management screwing up so badly that the company could not afford to pay wages that people will accept rather than no job.

Or. An example of brands losing some luster because of shifting market preferences (concerns over nutritional value).

Or, to put the above all together: Ownership insistence of some set profit margin that was not in line with market realities of operating expenses and product demand.

So now it all get ripped down into pieces and becomes fertilizer for, hopefully, more competent management with a more market appropriate vision. *shrug*
 
Or. An example of management screwing up so badly that the company could not afford to pay wages that people will accept rather than no job.

Or. An example of brands losing some luster because of shifting market preferences (concerns over nutritional value).

Or, to put the above all together: Ownership insistence of some set profit margin that was not in line with market realities of operating expenses and product demand.

So now it all get ripped down into pieces and becomes fertilizer for, hopefully, more competent management with a more market appropriate vision. *shrug*

The Teamsters accepted their wages and thought the bakers were being stupid. And the wage difference for the bakers was a matter of holding out for 20/hr when the contract was 18/hr.
 
Common sense, lost by far too many in unions. Not all just too many.

At this I can't help but think it'd be cool if Bain Capital swooped in and saved the company and jobs. I'd say they could put in for a union bail out and maybe get a Michelle Obama sponsorship :)


The Teamsters accepted their wages and thought the bakers were being stupid. And the wage difference for the bakers was a matter of holding out for 20/hr when the contract was 18/hr.
 
The Teamsters accepted their wages and thought the bakers were being stupid. And the wage difference for the bakers was a matter of holding out for 20/hr when the contract was 18/hr.

And for some people, that can mean the difference between making your rent or not. Or being able to afford an expensive medical procedure for your child. The difference in pay looks pretty small when you describe it as the difference between the numbers 18 and 20. But it can mean a whole lot more than that to those bakers.

Frankly, I think we'll be better off without Twinkies. Though I'll have to wonder what we'll eat when the zombie apocalypse comes. Twinkies were a staple of the 28 Days Later diet.
 
And for some people, that can mean the difference between making your rent or not. Or being able to afford an expensive medical procedure for your child. The difference in pay looks pretty small when you describe it as the difference between the numbers 18 and 20. But it can mean a whole lot more than that to those bakers.

And now they have a pay of $0, which is going to make all of those things considerably more difficult, over a take-home pay difference of about one DirecTV payment per month.

And that includes everyone who now has no job, not just the people involved in the strike.
 
And for some people, that can mean the difference between making your rent or not. Or being able to afford an expensive medical procedure for your child. The difference in pay looks pretty small when you describe it as the difference between the numbers 18 and 20. But it can mean a whole lot more than that to those bakers.

And how are they gonna do without jobs at all? How many of the employees didn't mind the two hour cut but now lost their jobs completely because the union felt it important to make sure those who did need those two extra hours could keep them?

I'm not trying to make a "unions are evil" point, I'm just trying to show that the issue goes both ways. Unions need to be kept in check just as much as businesses do.
 
Or. An example of management screwing up so badly that the company could not afford to pay wages that people will accept rather than no job.

Or. An example of brands losing some luster because of shifting market preferences (concerns over nutritional value).

Or, to put the above all together: Ownership insistence of some set profit margin that was not in line with market realities of operating expenses and product demand.

So now it all get ripped down into pieces and becomes fertilizer for, hopefully, more competent management with a more market appropriate vision. *shrug*

Your perception of how business and employment works is warped and delusional
 
The Teamsters accepted their wages and thought the bakers were being stupid. And the wage difference for the bakers was a matter of holding out for 20/hr when the contract was 18/hr.
Or maybe the Teamsters thought they got a better deal than the bakers, maybe they did get a better deal compared to what they were looking for, and wanted the bakers to take the hit so they could keep their own deal. *shrug*

So, why did you not buy more Twinkies to the amount that would have kept Hostess afloat? <— serious, non-rhetorical question
 
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The competitors of Hostess also have employees that are part of the bakers union and yet they are still afloat. Its clear the management at hostess is incompetent, especially since they already went bankrupt back in 2004. Other companies will increase their production of dingdongs and Hoe Hoes to meet the demand for unhealthy snacks and will hire new employees. This is what we call Capitalism.

In the market economy, a corporation that can't afford to pay the same wages as the competition deserves to die. Calling the workers greedy is simply the pathetic excuse of a sociopath unable to accept responsibility.
 
And for some people, that can mean the difference between making your rent or not. Or being able to afford an expensive medical procedure for your child. The difference in pay looks pretty small when you describe it as the difference between the numbers 18 and 20. But it can mean a whole lot more than that to those bakers.

Frankly, I think we'll be better off without Twinkies. Though I'll have to wonder what we'll eat when the zombie apocalypse comes. Twinkies were a staple of the 28 Days Later diet.

if you cant pay rent making $18 per hour you really need to step back and look at your income vs. outgo and figure out what you are doing wrong, its not the employers fault .......and tell us how does one need to make to afford an expensive medical procedure?.....and why throw the "children card"?...my wife just had a procedure done las week that cost me $1700 out of pocket after insurance.....do i need to go talk to my boss about a raise?...NO, i just man up and take care of MY business, its not my employers problem..............besides, $18 per hour to make cupcakes?...really?...we're talkin cupcakes, not digital cardiac pacemakers............thats whats wrong with the Auto unions, paying somebody $40 per hour to screw on a door handle
 
do i need to go talk to my boss about a raise?...NO, i just man up and take care of MY business, its not my employers problem....
So why doesn’ t Hostess “man up” and take care of their own business rather than going to the workers for the pay cut?
 
Or maybe the Teamsters thought they got a better deal than the bakers, maybe they did get a better deal compared to what they were looking for, and wanted the bakers to take the hit so they could keep their own deal. *shrug*

I linked to the Teamsters' statement in the other thread. There's no maybe; they said straight out that the strike was suicidal because Hostess just couldn't do what the bakers' union wanted, and warned against them assuming liquidation was a bluff. They accepted their deal because they knew they couldn't get any better and wisely chose less pay over no jobs.

o, why did you not buy more Twinkies to the amount that would have kept Hostess afloat? <— serious, non-rhetorical question

How is that POSSIBLY a "serious question"? I, personally, am obligated to keep Hostess afloat? That's as stupid as anything I've ever read on DP.

And as a rhetorical question, it has nothing to do with what I said.
 
And for some people, that can mean the difference between making your rent or not. Or being able to afford an expensive medical procedure for your child. The difference in pay looks pretty small when you describe it as the difference between the numbers 18 and 20. But it can mean a whole lot more than that to those bakers.

Frankly, I think we'll be better off without Twinkies. Though I'll have to wonder what we'll eat when the zombie apocalypse comes. Twinkies were a staple of the 28 Days Later diet.

Ahh now they dont have ANY job let alone one that dont pay them enough. Hmmm I dont know but 2 bucks an hour, I think I can trim a bit to make ends meet and start looking for another job. Just me.
 
I linked to the Teamsters' statement in the other thread. There's no maybe; they said straight out that the strike was suicidal because Hostess just couldn't do what the bakers' union wanted, and warned against them assuming liquidation was a bluff. They accepted their deal because they knew they couldn’t get any better and wisely chose less pay over no jobs.
There is no maybe because nobody ever has their own motivations or agenda, or just their own POV for that matter, left unsaid behind a public statement they release?

:rofl
How is that POSSIBLY a "serious question"? I, personally, am obligated to keep Hostess afloat?
Exactly. Same for the bakers, they are not personally obligated to keep Hostess afloat. Yes, even if the Teamsters want them to. They may have self-interest in doing so but they do get to decide on the existence and parameters of that self-interest.
 
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So why doesn’ t Hostess “man up” and take care of their own business rather than going to the workers for the pay cut?

They are in bankruptsy. This means they have NO money. More accurately not ENOUGH money to pay the bills and pay the workers let alone make a profit. Hence the workers needed to realize this. They didnt, now they have no jobs. Something tells me if life was hard before, its nothing compared to what they are facing now. I wonder why the union members went on strike in the first place? Didnt the union tell them that Hostess doesnt have enough money? And why would a union be foolish enough to go on strike with a company in bankruptzy in the first place? I guess that job sucked so much that they just didnt care if the company went under. If the job was that bad why work there at all? Or for an extended period of time? Sometime I wonder if people even bother to think.
 
Twinkies will be a big loss to the American waistline. Every cloud has a silver lining.
 
They are in bankruptsy. This means they have NO money.
They need to man up! That isn’t the other guy’s problem! :mrgreen:
I guess that job sucked so much that they just didn’t care if the company went under. If the job was that bad why work there at all?
My guess is for the current wage? There are breaking points, people have their price. *shrug*
 
And for some people, that can mean the difference between making your rent or not. Or being able to afford an expensive medical procedure for your child. The difference in pay looks pretty small when you describe it as the difference between the numbers 18 and 20. But it can mean a whole lot more than that to those bakers.

Frankly, I think we'll be better off without Twinkies.


Hostess Brands Information - Home
In addition to dozens of baking and distribution facilities around the country, Hostess Brands will sell its popular brands, including Hostess®, Drakes® and Dolly Madison®, which make iconic cake products such as Twinkies®, CupCakes, Ding Dongs®, Ho Ho’s®, Sno Balls® and Donettes®. Bread brands to be sold include Wonder®, Nature’s Pride ®, Merita®, Home Pride®, Butternut®, and Beefsteak®, among others.

Not just Twinkies are gone.....
 
The competitors of Hostess also have employees that are part of the bakers union and yet they are still afloat. Its clear the management at hostess is incompetent, especially since they already went bankrupt back in 2004. Other companies will increase their production of dingdongs and Hoe Hoes to meet the demand for unhealthy snacks and will hire new employees. This is what we call Capitalism.

In the market economy, a corporation that can't afford to pay the same wages as the competition deserves to die. Calling the workers greedy is simply the pathetic excuse of a sociopath unable to accept responsibility.

Which competitors payed MORE than Hostess? I'd like to know because Bimbo which is a Mexican based company out here sure dont. Now the workers are unemployed which is a FAR superior position. I wonder if the competitors are going to hire them? For the same wage no less. A surpluss of qualified employees. Hmmm. Buyers market anyone. I bet the potential employers can name their own price, just like on priceline.com. Lowest bid wins.
 
They need to man up! That isn’t the other guy’s problem! :mrgreen:

My guess is for the current wage? There are breaking points, people have their price. *shrug*

How exactly they to do that? Crap money? It was the other guyes problem. Now the other guy has BIGGER problems, like getting a new job with 18,000 other people competing with them. Funny how that works.
 
An example of union greed going to far.


Twinkies maker Hostess going out of business- MSN Money
Hostess Brands, the bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, said it has sought court permission to go out of business after failing to get wage and benefit cuts from thousands of its striking bakery workers.

Hostess said a national strike by members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union that began last week had crippled its ability to produce and deliver products at several facilities.

The liquidation of the company will mean that most of its 18,500 employees will lose their jobs, Hostess said on Friday.

The 82-year-old company said it took the decision to shut down after determining that not enough employees had returned to work by a deadline on Thursday.

The company, which filed for bankruptcy in January for the second time since 2004, said it had filed a motion with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, for permission to shut down and sell assets.

The Irving, Texas, company has 565 distribution centers and 570 bakery outlet stores, as well as the 33 bakeries. Its brands include Wonder, Nature's Pride, Dolly Madison, Drake's, Butternut, Home Pride and Merita, but it is probably best known for Twinkies -- basically a cream-filled sponge cake.

"We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," Chief Executive Gregory Rayburn said in a statement.

"Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders," Rayburn added.

Breaking News:

Company that makes **** products goes out of business.
 
Breaking News:

Company that makes **** products goes out of business.

I liked Twinkies, and love Ding Dongs. Good thing they are designed to survive nuclear war. I am going out and stocking up. Soon they will be selling ding dongs on Ebay for ten bucks or more a pop. I intend to get in on the ground floor for that action.
 
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