The end of an era, unmissed

Rico says they're trying to make it the union's fault, but no business goes down without management help, and the Philadelphia Inquirer has the AP story:

Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Wonder Bread, is going out of business. Hostess Brands Inc. said it likely won't make an immediate announcement on whether it will move to liquidate its business, after the company had set a deadline for striking employees to return to work.
The maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Wonder Bread had warned employees that it would file a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to unwind its business and sell off assets if plant operations didn't return to normal levels. That would result in the loss of about eighteen thousand jobs.
Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, has already reached a contract agreement with its largest union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. But thousands of members in its second-biggest union went on strike late last week after rejecting a contract offer that cut wages and benefits. Officials for the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union said the company stopped contributing to workers' pensions last year.
In an interview with Fox Business, Hostess' chief executive officer, Gregory Rayburn, said many workers have already crossed picket lines this week to go back to work despite warnings by union leadership that they'd be fined. "The problem is we don't have enough crossing those lines to maintain normal production," said Rayburn, who first joined Hostess earlier this year as a restructuring expert.
Hostess says that production at about a dozen of the company's 33 plants has been seriously affected by the strike. Three plants were closed earlier this week.
The Teamsters meanwhile are urging the smaller union to hold a secret ballot on whether to continue striking. Citing its financial experts who had access to the company's books, the Teamsters say that Hostess' warning of liquidation is "not an empty threat or a negotiating tactic," but a certain outcome if workers continue striking.
Hostess, a privately held company, filed for Chapter 11 protection in January, its second trip through bankruptcy court in less than a decade. The company cited increasing pension and medical costs for employees as one of the drivers behind its latest filing.
Hostess said it would file the motion to liquidate if needed, with a hearing scheduled for this week. If the motion is granted, Hostess would begin closing operations immediately.

Rico says that you don't bring in a 'restructuring expert' unless you're planning on restructuring...