And I forgot to mention Devil Dogs, Donettes, and Sno Balls.
Hostess Brands announced this morning that they're going out of business and laying off around 18,500 employees.
Hostess higher-ups said a strike by bakery workers was a big part of the decision for the shutdown, and that they don’t have the “financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike.”
Union leaders called the announced shutdown a Bain-style decision – “a microcosm of what’s wrong with America.”
In the meantime, Ho-Ho production is winding down. From the NYTimes:
The last batches rolled off Hostess production lines early Friday morning, according to Tom Becker, a company spokesman, and no new products will be made for the time being.
The Times points out that Twinkies might not be a thing of the past, as Hostess Brands will likely be auctioned off to others.
But that’s not stopping shoppers in Detroit. They’re stocking up, according to the Detroit News:
Customers came out to the Hostess Brands Inc. outlet here to stock up on their Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho-Ho's and more after the announcement Friday the snack-maker would be going out of business. And while the store's parking lot was full, shelves were empty. Twinkies, a Hostess favorite, were nowhere to be found Friday, and small amounts of all snack foods dwindled as shoppers packed the aisles at the store at 14750 Fort St.
The News reports the shutdown could have a ripple effect here in Michigan:
In addition, 381 people will lose distribution and bakery outlet jobs as a result from the shutdown in Michigan. Metro Detroit will lose the most jobs of any area in the state with 200 job losses at six distribution and outlet facilities in Detroit, Livonia, Troy, Eastpointe and in Southgate, according to a job loss warning letter Hostess filed with the state in May.
