Fans of the popular Twinkies and Sno-Balls snacks from Hostess Brands, Inc., hoping for a last-minute save for their beloved confectionary delights may be disappointed with the latest news from Hostess, who said Tuesday that it failed to reach a deal with labor unions on strike that have prompted the company to close down.
After failing to come to an agreement with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers Union Tuesday, the company told Reuters it will have no further comment until a hearing scheduled for Wednesday before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
A representative of the union did not immediately respond to a request for comment to Reuters.
Talks between Hostess Brands and the union resumed after the company announced on Friday that it would be shutting down all operations following a strike earlier in the month by the union, which represents 5,000 workers.
The company has claimed that union wages and pension costs have caused them to lose money, while the union argues that the company ran into financial trouble after poor management and planning.
"Management refused to invest in modernizing its bakeries or devote necessary resources to advertising and marketing, product development and new technology. Business plan after business plan failed, leaving the company ever deeper in debt," said union president Frank Hurt in a statement posted Nov. 18.
Teamsters General Secretary Ken Hall told the Associated Press Tuesday that the failure of the negotiations-which will likely mean that Hostess will close for good--was a "tragic outcome" for Hostess workers.
However, several Hostess Brands products-such as Twinkies, Devil Dogs, Sno-Balls and Ding Dongs-may yet survive the closure, with word rising this past week of other companies interested in purchasing the rights to purchase some of those products. Companies that have been mentioned as potential buyers of the rights to make Hostess products include Flowers Foods, Mexico's Grupo Bimbo, Sun Capital Partners and Metropolous & Co.
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