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Awful stuff! But it was stuff most of us grew up on even if we didn't eat it. Wonder Bread was terrible bread and it did not "Build strong bodies 12 ways" as was advertised back in the early 50s. So there's some nostalgia connected to the brand which makes it a loss but not one I'm going to lose any sleep over. Haven't eaten one of their products in decades. As for the loss of employment for so many, while that's regrettable, once again any spirit of cooperation and negotiation appears to have been lost with predictable results.
Exactly and the garbage force-fed by the corporate-owned media companies tells a different story consistently, just as it is with Obamacare. The poor companies that are having to cut back on lower to mid-level employee payroll/benefits so that the top brass can see continued increases like Hostess demonstrated. Blame it on the unions and the President. Why do so many believe these slimy CEOs? If in doubt ever, follow the money trail and not the rhetoric.
A. You leave out what the "teamsters" management costs are in your argument.....hmmm. Union pension costs were 100mm, management only "robbed 7mm" seems a little lopsided no? Management takes the fall (name in paper, salary etc) but who is the Teamsters president? How much did he make last year? What did he contribute to building a stronger business?
B. Management is out of work also. Even a guy that was making 400K a year is going to choke after sitting on the couch for 6-12 months. Nobody on that board was looking to become unemployed, raise or no raise. You do have to wonder though if they knew the math wasn't adding up, get a raise (to help with your unemployment in the near future).
C. What do you think that does to your resume as a "former executive" of a bankrupt company?
Unions are thugs, too much red tape in the USA already and the unions break businesses! Name one thing a union did to make a company better, stronger, more profitable? Why does the nation's largest private business (WalMart) refuse to "go union?" They are America's strongest business yet they accomplished this without the "help from a union?"
Unions are parasitic in nature, just live off the accomplishments of others and become essentially another business in itself. Flare ups like Twinkie, or better yet the refusal to let electrical lineman help in NY/NJ in a time of need (Hurricane Sandy) because they visiting workers were non-union just shows they will exist only to better themselves even as others suffer (6300 union workers at Hostess, 12,000 non union = all unemployed). How many folks in NY/NJ didn't have power last week because the unions were "laying down the rules on who could/couldn't work in their area?
In 1930, unions were needed. The US Govt had few regulations and employees were taken advantage of. 80 years later the US Govt has over-regulated everything and the companies are the ones that are being taken advantage of. So to "win" they close their doors and relocate to non-union areas or even out of the country (to escape US Govt regs and the unions) then get cheaper labor costs across the board.
Only 18,000 workers.....some of which will get hired by whoever snatches the brands out of bankruptcy auction. GM had millions of workers (both GM employees and in supplier roles). If GM folded, so did the bolt company, the tire plants, the glass/plastic manufacturers etc.... all the parts used in the production.
Awful stuff! But it was stuff most of us grew up on even if we didn't eat it. Wonder Bread was terrible bread and it did not "Build strong bodies 12 ways" as was advertised back in the early 50s. So there's some nostalgia connected to the brand which makes it a loss but not one I'm going to lose any sleep over. Haven't eaten one of their products in decades. As for the loss of employment for so many, while that's regrettable, once again any spirit of cooperation and negotiation appears to have been lost with predictable results.
Wonder Bread tasted like a flavorless sponge. Once I tasted whole grain bread I never ate Wonder Bread again.
Wonder Bread tasted like a flavorless sponge. Once I tasted whole grain bread I never ate Wonder Bread again.
Whole grain bread. Gag. An industreous kid at one of our local high schools protested the "whole grain roll" substitution in his high school cafeteria by purchasing white bread hamburger rolls at our local grocery store before school and selling them (even the teachers bought them). Made some cash, I am told. Dang, Kaptain Kangaroo endorsed Wonder Bread! I remember begging my mother to buy it, because the Kaptain evangelized it (the red, white and blue balloons), but she wouldn't...she bought some locally marketed pasty white bread.
They served Wonder Bread at my elementary school...made the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...apple jelly, peanut butter mixed with honey on WONDER BREAD.
Oh no! There goes my Hostess snowballs, twinkies and variety of pies I grew up with as a kid!
Wonder Bread was also my favorite! Come on, it wasn't that bad!
The view from the other side: A Venture Capitalist bought the Hostess debt, knowing they could get their money back by breaking up the company and selling the assets. They were willing to keep the company running only if they could get the workers to agree to massive cuts in pay and benefits, including the company's pension obligations. When some of the workers said "No, those cuts are too deep," the VCs pulled the plug. Of course they want to blame it on the union, but this was in their playbook from the beginning. And all those lost jobs are just collateral damage.
And yes, the reason for Hostess being in trouble in the first place was declining sales. That kind of high-carb sugary snack is way out of fashion, especially for feeding to kids, although it is still popular enough among adults to have a reasonably strong future. Had they been managed well, and necessary cost savings been found on an ongoing basis, I have no doubt the company could have survived.
As it is, the Trademarks and recipes and all will be sold off to another company, who will bring them back to great fanfare, I am sure. There is simply too much affection for them by consumers to disappear just yet.
This is all true, thanks for saving me from typing all of that.
Will I miss them: Nope. Haven't had any of them for decades. In one documentary I watched, a Twinkie was left on a shelf, out of the wrapper, for over a year and nothing changed on it. The scary part is even insects avoided it.
I read in the newspaper today that people are going to Hostess outlet bakeries and buying up all the Twinkies, Ding Dongs, etc. And there are those who are now selling a box of the bullet-proof treats on ebay for $24.99 and up. Sheeesh!
I loved HoHos when I was a kid, and the cupcakes, and the fruit pies, and the Dolly Madison raspberry Zingers ... ... but the quality and my taste buds changed many years ago.
I doubt if consumer tastes, though, have really changed enough to deep-six the company; there simply are more alternatives for consumers now, the management of the company has stunk for decades, and the workforce didn't help, either. A perfect storm.
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... but the quality and my taste buds changed many years ago. 