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Saturday, November 17, 2012

Collateral Damage- Hostess Outlets Nationally Closing After Union Strike Forces Hostess Brands To Close

By Susan Duclos

Hostess Brands is closed after the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) starting striking and crippled the company’s ability to produce and deliver products at multiple facilities.

18,000+ employees, many not  BCTGM union members, who have now lost their livelihoods, the collateral damage from a brand such as Hostess closing, are the people who work at Hostess outlets across the country.

Hostess Related Closings

Quincy Illinois Hostess Outlet store to close Monday

Not only will consumers no longer be able to find the sliced bread or cream filled rolls on grocery shelves, but one local business will be closing its doors.

The Hostess Bakery Outlet, 1438 N. 24th Quincy, will close at 4:00 p.m. Monday, November 19 for good. Locally, the move affects three employees. Nationwide, about 18,500 of Hostess's employees will lose their jobs.

A representative from the Bakery Outlet said "We knew this might happen with the bakers union being on strike."

She added the store has seen an increase in customers this week and will most likely not have any food left come close Monday.

The Quincy outlet's last shipment of baked goods came in Thursday.


Hostess outlet store in Flint Michigan to close after Twinkie company folds 

Local Hostess employees will soon be out of a job after Texas-based Hostess Brands Inc. announced it is closing its doors after more than 60 years of business.

Henrico Virginia Hostess outlet closing

The Hostess Store in Henrico has been busy all night, and the phone won't stop ringing with customers trying to find Twinkies. 

The iconic foods have become hot ticket items, after an announcement that Hostess plans to close all of its stores. 

Standing at the register, Marie Shaffner is all smiles for her customers, no different than the 24 other years she's worked here day after day. 

But this day is different. The store is closing and she found out she's losing her job just hours ago.
"Very, very depressed," said Marie Shaffner who found out at work. "Word of mouth from customers, cause they saw the news."

It hits hard for this family too. Cathy Crowder's mother worked here for years.

Augusta shoppers lament likely Hostess outlet store closing

Shoppers at two Hostess-affiliated bakery stores in central Maine were sad and nostalgic on Friday following news that the company will close.

[...]

 At the J.J. Nissen Hostess Bakery Outlet on Leighton Road in Augusta, a store clerk who said she couldn't speak to the media confirmed the store will close. Another clerk working the register told customers to stock up, saying the store will likely close in a few weeks.

Local outlets also hurt by Hostess closing announcement 

 News of Hostess Brands ceasing operations reaches beyond the company’s Emporia plant to the Capital City

Also affected are the many outlet stores which sell hostess products like the store on South Kansas Ave. in Topeka that sells Wonder Bread and other baked goods.

The outlet is among 570 bakery stores across the country that will shut down after it sells off its remaining items.

The store employs two full-time and two part-time employees.

Customer Norma Juhnke heard the Hostess news Friday morning and went to the store to stock up on some of the treats for her family. ”I made a special trip to the Hostess place because they're going out of business and I wanted Hostess Twinkies and Suzy Q's and Ding Dongs and all the things that my children grew up with so that my grandchildren can have that experience also,” said Norma

A Dolly Madison outlet in North Topeka will also close after its inventory is gone.
That location on northwest Topeka Blvd. has three employees.

Hostess outlets stores in Camarillo, Glendale and Chatsworth Closing

The decision by Hostess Brands Inc. to shutter all its operations will result in the closure of Hostess outlets stores in Camarillo, Glendale and Chatsworth.

The three locations are among the 570 bakery outlet stores Hostess has throughout the United States. The three area stores employed about 65 workers. Hostess has a total workforce of 18,500 employees.

Hostess Brands, the maker of classic baked goods Twinkie and Ding Dongs, filed for bankruptcy protection in January. The company on Nov. 16 filed a motion seeking permission from the bankruptcy court to close its business and sell off its assets due to a strike by employees represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.


Hostess Brands ends operations, closing Daytona Beach outlet 

Hostess Brands Inc. announced Friday it is going out business and by late morning, customers were arriving at the Merita Bakery Outlet Store, 370 S. Nova Road, for their last orders of Twinkies, Ho Hos and bread.

Nobody from the store would comment but customers said they were told the store would close Saturday. 

"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," Hostess Brands said Friday in a statement.


Macomb Hostess Bakery outlet to close 

 Tuesday will be the final day in operation for the Hostess outlet store at 622 E. Jackson St.
The closure comes in the wake of the Hostess Brands Friday morning announcement that it would liquidate its bakery business and lay off most of the company's 18,500 employees.

Debbie Davis, the lead clerk of the Macomb store, said she, seven other full-time employees and one part-timer will be unemployed after Tuesday. In spite of receiving notice about losing her job, she remained upbeat Friday afternoon as she greeted customers in search of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and the other iconic snack cakes Hostess is known for.


End of Hostess means closure for Denver bakery

Among the plants closing is a Wonder Bread bakery at 80 E. 62nd Ave. that employs 160 workers. The company also operated two outlet stores in Denver and one in Loveland.

Little Rock Arkansas Hostess Bakeries Wind Down

Hostess bakeries in the Little Rock area are expected to shut down after the company's announcement that it is going out of business.

Lue Kelley, a clerk at a Hostess outlet on Geyer Springs Road, said employees were told on a conference call that the stores would all be closing. Hostess also has a location on MacArthur Drive in North Little Rock.

These are just the immediate reports a day after a judge approved the Hostess closings, outlet stores that carried Hostess Brand exclusively will continue to close down over the next week.

Just collateral damage for the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.