Hostess Bankruptcy / No More Twinkies

Hostess Bankruptcy / No More Twinkies

Updated Mar 23, 2017 at 12:38AM EDT by Don.

Added Nov 16, 2012 at 05:17PM EST by amanda b..

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Background

On November 16th, 2012, the bakery company Hostess[1] announced that the company had filed a motion in United States Bankruptcy Court to obtain permission to cease business and sell off their assets. The news came amidst a worker's strike that had taken hold of approximately 6,600 employees in 24 of its 33 baking plants across the United States. A closure message was put up on their website[3], directing vistors to a new page[4] outlining the details of their liquidation. Online, fans of the brand reacted on social media and began selling the company's products on auction sites looking to make a profit.


Hostess Brands dali, Media Contacts Hostess Brands is Closed We are sorry to announce that Hostess Brands, Inc. has been forced by a Bakers Union strike to shut down all operations and sell all company assets. For more information, go to hostessbrands.info. Thank you for all of your loyalty and support over the years If you are a member of the media and would like to speak with a Hostess Brands representative, please contact one of the Erik Halvorson erik.halvorson@hostessbrands.com HOSTESS BRANDS TO WIND DOWN COMPANY AFTER BCTGM UNION STRIE CRIPPLES OPERATIONS Friday, November 16, 2012 at 7:00AM Blynn Austin blynn.austin@hostessbrands.com Irving, TX - November 16, 2012 - Hostess Brands Inc. today announced that it is winding down operations and has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking permission to close its business and sell its assets, including its iconic brands and facilities. Bakery operations have been suspended at all plants. Delivery of products will continue and Hostess Brands retail stores will remain open for several days in order to sell already-baked products The Board of Directors authorized the wind down of Hostess Brands to preserve and maximize the value of the estate after one of the Company's largest unions, the Bakery, Confectionery Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), initiated a nationwide strike that crippled the Company's ability to produce and deliver products at multiple facilities On Nov. 12, Hostess Brands permanently closed three plants as a result of the work stoppage On Nov. 14, the Company announced it would be forced to liquidate if sufficient employees did not return to work to restore normal operations by 5 p.m., EST p.m., Nov. 15. The Company determined on the night of Nov. 15 that an insufficient number of employees had returned to work to enable the restoration of normal operations The BCTGM in September rejected a last, best and final offer from Hostess Brands designed to lower costs so that the Company could attract new financing and emerge from Chapter 11 Hostess Brands then received Court authority on Oct. 3 to unilaterally impose changes to the BCTGM's collective bargaining agreements Hostess Brands is unprofitable under its current cost structure, much of which is determined by union wages and pension costs concessions but also gave Hostess Brands' 12 unions a 25 percent ownership stake in the company, representation on its Board of Directors and $100 million in reorganized Hostess . The offer to the BCTGM in cluded wage, benefit and work rule

Financial History

Founded in 1930, the Interstate Bakeries Corporation launched and acquired dozens of other brands over several decades, including the 1995 acquisition of Taggart Bakeries, the original creator of Wonder Bread and Hostess snack cakes including Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos. After recovering from its first bankruptcy that lasted over five years from 2004 to 2009, the company rebranded itself as Hostess Brands, Inc. However, just over two years later in January 2012, the company filed for a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy. After some executive changes, the company had to reevaluate their employees' wages and benefits, attempting to make large cuts in their employees' pay in order to save their pensions.[2] However, these talks did not go well and in November, approximately 6,600 employees who are members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union went on strike.

Notable Developments

On Twitter

As the news broke, Twitter users began tweeting in dismay, with 26,807 tweets mentioning Hostess between 9:15 AM EST and 10:15 AM EST on November 16th.[5] Tweets about Twinkies, one of the company's most well-known brands, peaked between 11:14 AM EST and 12:14 PM EST with 20,371 mentions.[6] Several internet culture blogs and news sites featured stories on the Twitter response to Hostess' shutdown including Mashable[7], The Times-Picayune[8], the Detroit Free Press[9] and the New York Times.[10] Politico[11] compiled a series of tweets from politicians and journalists, including one from Senator John McCain (shown below).




On Tumblr & Reddit

With the tags Hostess[17] and Twinkies[18], Tumblr users expressed their displeasure with the company's folding via image macros. Additionally, a single topic blog called RIP Twinkies[20] launched, sharing photos of the cream-filled sponge cake and its mascot, Twinkie the Kid. A handful of posters used content from the 2009 comedic horror film Zombieland[19], in which Woody Harrelson's character Tallahassee (shown below) spends most of the film searching for the last box of Twinkies left after a zombie apocalypse.


Hostess OIN ME N A MOMENT ZOMBIESEATPEOPLENETNEVER FORGET 11/16/12 FORAMERICA I DONT EVEN LIKE TWINKIES quickmeme.com OH THE HUMANITY! HOSTESSGOESOUTOFBUSINESS HAND OVER THE TWINKIES stess den Sponge Cake GOES OUTOF BUSINESS EXISTING STOCK WILL STAY FRESH FOR GENERATIONS uickmeme.com BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TWINKIES

eBay Auctions

Buzzfeed[12] published a series of 31 Instagram images of either stock piles of Hostess goods or empty shelves in stores where they would normally be found. As some people began hoarding the snack cakes, others began selling them online via auction sites like eBay. As of 7:30 PM EST on November 16th, there were 3,044 results for "twinkies" on eBay[13], with the most expensive auction priced at $2,500,000.00. Despite many of the auctions beginning at $0.99, some price gougers sought to sell the products from anywhere from $5000[14] (shown below, left) to $200,000 (shown below, right).[15] However, a Hostess spokesperson stated that they plan on selling the brands[15], hoping they would continue to be produced by other companies.


ebay Browse by category Back to search results Listed in category: Sporting Goods Outdoor Sports> Camping & Hiking >Cooking Supplies > MREs & Freeze Dried Food Single Twinkies Itern condition: Now Time left: 6d 22h (Nov 23, 2012 0642:49 PST Staring bie: US $5,000.00 Bids) Place bid Hostes ink Enter US $5,000.00 or more Add to Watch list BillMelater 18 months financing available Subject to credit approval. See tems A Fact Shipping: Calculate ttem location: Ralelgh, North Carolina, United States Ships to: United States Delivery: Varies Payments: PayPal, Bill Me Later See details E1 box of Hostess Twinkies FREE shipping Item condition: New Time left: 9d 20h (Nov 26, 2012 08:52:21 PST) Starting bid: US $200,000.00 [ 0 bids ] Place bid ostess Enter US $200,000.00 or more Price: US $250,000.00 Buy It Novw Add to cart Add to watch list Shipping: FREE One-day Shipping See details Item location: Garland, Texas, United States Ships to: United States Estimated by Tue, Nov. 27 Includes 5 business days handling time after receipt of cleared payment. Delivery: Payments: PayPalI See details Returns: No returns or exchanges, but item is covered by eBay Buyer Protection. eBay Buyer Protection Mouse over image to zoom Covers your purchase price plus original shipping Learn more $Have one to sell? Sell it yourself

Twinkies Return

On March 13th, 2013, CNN Money[21] reported that Twinkies would return to the United States market by summer after the snack food and other Hostess brands were purchased by the private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co. On June 13th, the site PrepareYourCakeFace was launched, featuring user-submitted Vine videos of people making faces expressing anticipation for the return of the Hostess products.




On July 15th, Twinkies officially returned to store shelves. The same day, USA Today[22] published an article reporting that the new Twinkies had 135 calories and weighed 38.5 grams, 3 grams and 15 fewer calories than the original. On the same day, PrepareYourCakeFace began forwarding to FeedYourCakeFace,[23] highlighting Vine and Instagram videos made by people who sampled the new Hostess snacks.

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