Twinkies maker Hostess plans closure

They are not in the baking industry; they are just interested in the money, Harrison said.

The company had started implementing an 8 percent pay cut, a 20 percent increase in healthcare costs, and changes to pension and workday provisions when workers went on strike on Nov. 9. Hostess had given employees a deadline to return to work on Thursday, but the union held firm, saying it had already given far more in concessions than workers could bear and that it would not bend further.

The union has been the death of this company, said a human resources manager who recently left Hostess.

LONG LABOR BATTLES

Hostess's battle with its workforce has brewed for years. Formerly known as Interstate Bakeries Corp (IBC), the company for decades was based in Kansas City, Missouri. It filed for bankruptcy in September 2004 and emerged in 2009 with a host of employee concessions from various unions.

A source with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity said the company was well positioned when it emerged from bankruptcy in 2009, but the recession, a spike in commodity prices and consolidation of major competitors reshaped the landscape and forced more restructuring.

We tried to get the senior creditors and the unions together and it dragged on and on and on and the company got weak, said the source. I'm still praying, literally, that something is

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