Hostess Brands Inc., whose sweet treat roster includes Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Ho's, filed a motion today in bankruptcy court seeking permission to shut down its business and sell its assets, including its iconic brands and facilities.
The company, based in Irving, Texas, is moving "promptly" to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce, which includes nearly 300 workers at 13 Hostess facilities in Massachusetts, and has suspended bakery operations at all its plants, said company CEO Gregory F. Rayburn.
The company's board of directors authorized the wind down of Hostess Brands after one of its largest unions, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, initiated a nationwide strike that crippled the company's ability to produce and deliver products at multiple facilities, company officials said.
In September, the union rejected a "last, best and final offer" from Hostess designed to lower costs so the company could attract new financing and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Rayburn said.
Delivery of products will continue and Hostess Brands retail stores will remain open for several days in order to sell already-baked products. The company permanently closed three plants as a result of the work stoppage on Nov. 12. Two days later, Hostess said it would be forced to liquidate if sufficient employees did not return to work to restore normal operations by 5 p.m. yesterday. The company then determined yesterday night that an insufficient number of employees had returned to work to enable the restoration of normal operations, Rayburn said.
"We deeply regret taking this action. But we simply cannot continue to operate without the ability to produce or deliver our products," Rayburn said in a letter to employees. "All Hostess Brands 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."
The wind down will result in the closure of 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, nearly 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores throughout the country. In addition to dozens of baking and distribution facilities in the United States, Hostess will sell its popular brands, which also include Drakes, Dolly Madison, and Wonder Bread.
In May, the company sent letters to Massachusetts officials and high-ranking politicians in 10 communities warning that its statewide facilities could shut down.
Affected state Hostess facilities include 91 Foster St. in Brockton; 601 Pond St. in Braintree; 189 Crawford St. in Fitchburg; 647 Andover St. in Lawrence; 420 Eastern Ave. in Malden; 323 Dalton Ave. in Pittsfield; 1566 State St. in Springfield; 2406 Cranberry Highway in Wareham; 215 West Boylston St., West Boylston; and four locations in Worcester at 75 Quinsigamond Ave., 39 SouthWest [LUV] Cutoff, 205 Chandler St., and 983 Milbury St.
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