Hostess Brands Inc. notified the state this week that it might lay off 340 employees around the state in July, including 185 in Northeast Florida at eight outlets and at the North Jacksonville manufacturing plant.
The six bakery outlets in the area operate as Merita or Dolly Madison stores, according to Hostessbrands.com.
Hostess Brands, maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, Suzy Q’s, Cupcakes, Sno Balls, Donettes and other products, filed the notices Tuesday and Wednesday as a “Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification.” It listed the layoff dates as July 7-July 21.
The Boston Herald reported Thursday that more than 18,000 Hostess Brands Inc. employees could lose their jobs nationwide during the company’s restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
The newspaper reported that the privately held company, based in Irving, Texas, notified its employees through the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act about potential job losses.
The Boston Herald included a statement from Hostess Brands:
“Last Friday, we mailed conditional WARN notices to all 18,500 Hostess Brands employees around the country. The notices were sent to notify employees that a sale or wind down of the company is possible in the future.
“However, our goal is still to emerge from bankruptcy as a growing company and there are no immediate actions being taken to sell or wind down the company. We are simply fulfilling our requirements by sending these notices.”
FoodBusinessNews.net reported Wednesday that Hostess, in its WARN letter to the Texas Workforce Commission, said its primary focus is to complete its restructuring and emerge from Chapter 11 as a viable company.
However, “it is possible that, despite our best efforts, certain events may occur that would require Hostess to sell all or portions of its business and/or wind down its operations and liquidate,” reported FoodBusinessNews.net, referring to the letter.
FoodBusinessNews.net said Hostess outlined several events that may occur, including:
• The board of directors authorizes, or seeks court authorization for, the pursuit of a sale of all or a substantial portion of all of Hostess’ assets;
• The board of directors authorizes, or seeks court authorization for, Hostess to stop pursuing the restructuring of its business;
• More than 20 percent of Hostess’ aggregate workforce is laid off after Jan. 11, 2012;
• Hostess receives an unsatisfactory resolution of its pending motion before the bankruptcy court regarding certain modifications to its collective bargaining agreements with the bakers and/or the Teamsters;
• There is a strike, walkout, lockout, slowdown or other work stoppage that is likely to have a material adverse effect on Hostess; or
• Hostess seeks bankruptcy approval to commence a sale of property while in bankruptcy, which accounts for more than 20 percent of Hostess’ consolidated net sales as reported on Hostess’ financial statements for the 12-month period preceding Jan. 11, 2012.
The notification filing with Florida indicates that in Northeast Florida, 121 workers at the manufacturing plant at 201 E. Busch Drive along with employees at six Jacksonville stores as well as at stores in Yulee and St. Augustine are included in the alert notice.
CNNMoney reported that the company filed for Chapter 11 in January. A spokesman told the news service that during the bankruptcy reorganization, the company “would operate business as normal.”
It reported that Hostess filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. The spokesman, Erik Halvorson, was quoted by CNNMoney that that the company did not plan to lay off any employees or close any plants.
In January, CNNMoney said the company had about 19,000 full-time and part-time employees, including 10,413 hourly workers and 8,436 salaried workers, according to a court filing. It said 83 percent were union members.
The company said it owes more than $1 billion to creditors.
It reported Hostess subsidiaries include Interstate Brands Corp. and Dolly Madison Bakeries along with the Wonder and Nature’s Pride bread bakers.
Halvorson told CNNMoney that Interstate Brands, formerly known as Interstate Bakeries, filed for Chapter 11 in 2005 and emerged in 2009. The Hostess documents filed with the bankruptcy petition said job reductions from that proceeding took a toll on company morale.
The Busch Drive property is owned by Interstate Brands Corp., according to Duval County property records.
A separate site, Hostesscakes.com, said the brand began in 1925. Twinkies were invented in 1930.
According to the company, it has estimated annual sales of $2.5 billion. Its 18,500 employees operate 36 bakeries and 570 bakery retail outlets and run about 5,500 delivery routes from 565 distribution centers.
In addition to Twinkies and the other well-known brands, Hostess Brands also owns Drake’s cakes, which have been produced since 1888 and are popular in the Northeast U.S., and Dolly Madison cakes since 1937.
In addition to Wonder bread and Nature’s Pride, it reports that its regional bread brands include Merita in the Southeastern U.S. and Home Pride, Beefsteak, Butternut, Millbrook, Eddy’s, J.J. Nissen, Sweetheart, Cotton’s Holsum, Sunbeam, and Bread du Jour.
It reports that the majority of its bread is sold through mass merchandisers and supermarkets and its snack cakes are sold primarily through supermarkets, mass merchandisers and convenience stores. Hostess said its wholesale bakeries produce products that are distributed through a direct store delivery system of 6,000 routes serving 50,000 customers throughout the United States.
Its 36 bakeries include the Jacksonville plant.
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Hostess Brands layoff notices
Hostess Brands Inc. notified the state of Tuesday and Wednesday about possible layoffs in July among Florida locations. Here are those listed in the Jacksonville area.
| Address | City | Employees affected | Industry |
| 201 E. Busch Drive | Jacksonville | 121 | Manufacturing |
| 2055 Rogero Road | Jacksonville | 3 | Retail trade |
| 2135 N. Market St. | Jacksonville | 14 | Wholesale trade |
| 6707 103d St. | Jacksonville | 14 | Wholesale trade |
| 9020 Beach Blvd. | Jacksonville | 16 | Wholesale trade |
| 1215 Edgewood Ave. W. | Jacksonville | 3 | Retail trade |
| 1959 Lane Ave. S. | Jacksonville | 3 | Retail trade |
| 84 S. Dixie Highway | St. Augustine | 6 | Wholesale trade |
| 96041 Nassau Place | Yulee | 5 | Wholesale trade |
Source: State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Notices