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Hostess has been in trouble for years. They haven't kept their product line up with the times. Good tasting, healthy bread can be baked in the same ovens they used for Wonder Bread. The sugar bombs they make aren't what the public is asking for any more. At the corporate level, the raises and benefits have gone up every year. In the bakeries, the equipment is worn out and out of date. It has been obvious that Hostess was choosing to go under rather than sell or compete in the market place. So, there you have it. Once again, the bosses are blaming the workers for *their* problems.

Evil corporation? No. Simply, one that has chosen to go under rather than compete.

Bain-type management philosophy. Offshore and liquidate.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/helaineolen ... -twinkies/" target="_blank

bloke wrote:

The Big Ben wrote:In the bakeries, the equipment is worn out and out of date.

photos? videos?

No photos or videos. Just incidental evidence provided by a friend who repaired equipment in the Hostess bakery in Seattle as an independent contractor.

According the management, the unions killed Hostess, and according to the unions management killed Hostess. I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle. All I know is that if the Hostess PR had come up with this sales campagn years ago, they wouldn't be in this predicament.

OldsRecording wrote:According the management, the unions killed Hostess, and according to the unions management killed Hostess. I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle. All I know is that if the Hostess PR had come up with this sales campaign years ago, they wouldn't be in this predicament.

Read the Forbes article. The article is written as an opinion piece but Forbes certainly can't be called anti-business. Hostess should be able to sell their brands. Bimbo (BEEM-bo), the largest baker in Mexico, is very interested in acquiring the brands and using them their selves.

The Big Ben wrote:......the equipment is worn out and out of date. ..... Evil corporation? No. Simply, one that has chosen to go under rather than compete.

Very true. Except I would modify the last sentence to read... "Simply because the stockholders (or owners) have chosen to close than to make the necessary investment to stay in business".

I've seen this happen many times during the thirty years I spent in manufacturing engineering. With several companies, I was tasked with upgrading the equipment only to be told that the stockholders would not make the investments. It was often difficult to even get a descent budget to perform routine maintenance.

In my opinion... that's the main reason why the manufacturing base in the US has gone to hell. Run it 'til it quits and then 'dump it'.

Hah, this would explain why, when shopping today, I saw a guy with a turkey and what must have been over 100 packages of various Hostess products. I thought "What an odd Thanksgiving". I think I had a half a Sno-Ball as a kid and maybe a couple of Twinkies. Nasty stuff. I hear tell that the California Casino on Fremont Street sells deep-fried Twinkies. Amazing what people will eat.

Chuck"who prefers pretzels and Animal Crackers"Jackson

TubaTinker wrote:the stockholders (or owners)

Especially when there isn't much difference - when the owners are financiers who have no connection with the business and don't care to. Founder gets old, sells the business, it falls into the hands of "bean counters", they suck it dry and sell it for scrap. That's their business.

A few years back, when the economy in Argentina was pretty bad and owners were walking away from their businesses, the workers stayed and ran them as worker owned cooperatives. Quite a few - 160 by one count - and with some degree of success despite the odds.

Not that I'm saying it would be in anyone's interest to hand Hostess over to the workers. With diabetes having doubled, or tripled in some parts of the country, in the last 15 years, Hostess isn't exactly vital to our national interest.

bloke wrote:America really needs to nationalize all businesses, so that someone who truly cares about the employees and truly cares about the success of these companies will be in charge of all of them.

No, the capitalists need to realize that there is more to running a business than making raw profits. A group of people who never even see the workers can make decisions that look good on paper when the goal is "return on investment" won't and don't see the ramifications of their actions. When decisions are made, almost always there is more than one choice and it would be great if some of those decisions were made with the long term survival of the company and workers in mind.

bloke wrote:America really needs to nationalize all businesses, so that someone who truly cares about the employees and truly cares about the success of these companies will be in charge of all of them.

Maybe not so far from that already, with both industry and government owned by Wall Street financiers.

bloke wrote:Has anyone ever tasted a Jinbao twinkie ?

I wouldn't know. I ordered one about a year and a half ago, and it never came in.

I'm old enough to remember when Wonder Bread built strong bodies 8 ways!

Not sure when they added 4 more ways. Anybody know when or why?

GMO's, of course!

Dennis

bloke wrote:

Of course, the CEO of Hostess cleared what the president of the union made in a year in about two months. Then the Hostess management had the gall to ask the SEC for permission to award theselves bonuses, presumably for a job well done.

bloke wrote:

OldsRecording wrote:Then the Hostess management had the gall to ask the SEC for permission to award theselves bonuses, presumably for a job well done.

A corporation or any business shouldn't have to ask any outside entity "permission" to shut down operations or to disperse assets to board members or stock holders.

Unless they're coming to the government with hat in hand requesting a handout (like bankruptcy protection).

Chuck Jackson wrote:I hear tell that the California Casino on Fremont Street sells deep-fried Twinkies. Amazing what people will eat.

They have deep-fried just about anything at county/state fairs now. I had deep-fried oreos and HoHos at our county fair this summer. Mmmm....Twinkies were an option, but I wanted the chocolate...drool....

It is NOT socially acceptable to squeeze your Twinkie so that the cream squirts out.

bloke wrote:-
- My understanding is that a hedge fund decided to risk some money to see if it could be salvaged.

From recent experience: Hedge funds do NOT risk money and they don't salvage. They are simply vultures that swoop on a vulnerable business, sell off the assets (in this case the goodwill, as represented by brand names), pay out the capital and operating reserves as a dividend (to themselves as the new owners, mostly), and shut down the spent carcass. In general, if a hedge fund starts buying shares in your employer, you need to start looking for a new job.

If you have cash invested in a shaky company this can be a wonderful way out. If you work for the company, better hope your contract has a powerful and well written severance clause.

Back in my fat days, Little Debbie and I were quite the pair. I miss her bountiful Oatmeal Cream Pies and the delectable taste of her Swiss Roll's.

Chuck"who just realized with a little waa-waa guitar this post could have gone down a whole different path"Jackson