Today we heard about the filing by Hostess Bakeries for ‘wind down’, meaning that they are seeking to close operations. The sad news will reportedly impact some 18,000 workers across 36 plants. Hostess has spent all of 2012 in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection working to reorganize operations to find a way to stay afloat.
Unfortunately, according to the Wall Street Journal, this year has seen commodity costs rise and demand for products decline. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the major union for the company declared a work stoppage last week that shut down the majority of operations.
This sort of news – thousands of jobs lost as a venerable old company folds – is never welcome, and certainly in these continued uncertain times major job losses at the holidays is very difficult. At the same time, I always struggle when a union considers a proposed contract ‘untenable’ … and ends up with massive layoffs instead.
On Facebook today I have seen loads of outpourings of nostalgia about Hostess that hearken back to childhood memories of the sweet treats – very often with an admission that the person couldn’t even remember the last time they had something from Hostess.
That is certainly true for me – I used to enjoy some of those things as a kid, but remember having a Suzy Q in my late 20’s and being shocked at how appallingly sweet it was, and never having anything since.
Here are some of the famous Hostess snacks:
- Mini Muffins
- Zingers
- Sno Balls
- Twinkies
- Fruit Pie
- Donettes
- Ding Dongs
- Ho Hos
- Suzy Q’s
- Cup Cakes
What was your favorite? Also, how do you feel about the demise of Hostess, the union striking in bankruptcy, and anything else about the situation?