IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread, is going out of business.
The company had said it would file a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to shutter operations if enough workers don't return by 5 p.m. on Thursday. That would result in the loss of about 18,000 jobs.
Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, reached a contract agreement with its largest union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. But thousands of members in its second biggest union, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, went on strike last week to protest cuts to wages and benefits under a new contract offer.
The privately held food maker filed for Chapter 11 protection in January.
The Texas-based firm said significant cost pressures had hindered its ability to compete, "primarily due to legacy pension and medical benefit obligations and restrictive work rules."
Hostess, which employs roughly 19,000 people, said its labor costs, combined with the economic downturn, had squeezed funding and prompted the decision to restructure.
The company emerged from bankruptcy in 2009, but the restructuring efforts at that time were insufficient, the company said.
Thursday, June 20 2013 6:10 AM EDT2013-06-20 10:10:08 GMT
The driver of the vehicle that left several people injured and a trail of destruction in the area of 2nd Avenue and East 4th Street in the East Village has been arrested.
The driver of the vehicle that left several people injured and a trail of destruction in the area of 2nd Avenue and East 4th Street in the East Village has been arrested.
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The actor James Gandolfini, best known for his award-winning portrayal of New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano in the HBO series "The Sopranos," has died in Italy. He was 51.
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Joe Torre's daughter caught a 1-year-old boy who fell from a fire escape outside a second-floor apartment in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn Wednesday morning.
Joe Torre's daughter caught a 1-year-old boy who fell from a fire escape outside a second-floor apartment in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn Wednesday morning.
New York state and Eastman Kodak Co. have reached a deal that will keep some of the troubled company's operations in Rochester and provide $49 million for environmental cleanup at the once bustling Eastman...
New York state and Eastman Kodak Co. have reached a deal that will keep some of the troubled company's operations in Rochester and provide $49 million for environmental cleanup at the once bustling Eastman Business Park.
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Franklin Reyes, 17, was in court Wednesday. He is charged with the death of 4-year-old Ariel Russo.
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More than 70 percent of New Jersey residents have seen or heard the state's "Stronger than the Storm" advertising campaign, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll.
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The FBI has found possible human remains in a dig at the New York City house once occupied by a famous gangster. An FBI spokesman confirmed Wednesday that agents found material that they want to test as part of an investigation.
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