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SK in CV.
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November 17, 2012 at 6:55 PM #754857November 17, 2012 at 6:55 PM #754858
CoronitaParticipantWHAT???? No more Wonderbread??????????????????????
November 17, 2012 at 8:30 PM #754859CA renter
Participant[quote=ocrenter]the typical battle of pro-union vs pro-business is once again playing out, we’ll probably see another 100 posts back and forth.
bottom line, sales have been declining for years, everyone proclaim love for it, but how many would eat it? The company was in bankruptcy 5 of the last 8 years! yes it makes for a great headline–“union strike leads to company’s death, killing jobs for 18000 workers,” but essentially we are looking at a fast quick death vs a few more months on artificial life support.
face it, the stuff is simply not fit for human consumption.[/quote]
Exactly, OCR.
This isn’t about unions bankrupting the company, it’s about a product that too few people want to buy. Back when we were kids, I’ll bet most of us (those of us over ~35) had a Hostess product in our lunchboxes at least once a week. These days, I’ll bet very, very few kids eat these, at least not nearly as often. I would feel guilty for years if my kids ate like I did back in the day.
Anyway, there’s another possible angle to the story, IMHO. This might be a way for the unions/employees to force the company into liquidation so that they can buy it out (maybe just the profitable parts). If the Teamsters were one of the primary bidders during the last BK, it’s entirely possible that they (and the bakers’ union) are eying an opportunity to buy the profitable lines at an even lower price than the first BK.
If this isn’t what they’re doing, then I’d agree that the baker’s union members are complete idiots.
November 18, 2012 at 2:33 AM #754862CoronitaParticipant
Hostess had annual sales of about $2.5 billion. The company said it had been making 500 million Twinkies and 127 million loaves of Wonder Bread annually before Friday’s shutdown.
November 18, 2012 at 4:56 AM #754863scaredyclassic
Participantnow that i think about it, I actually got a box of twinkies on sale for 2.50 at albertsons for 1/2 price and brought them to work. i gave most out. people were very excited tor eceive a free twinkie.
November 18, 2012 at 7:39 AM #754866CoronitaParticipant[quote=squat250]now that i think about it, I actually got a box of twinkies on sale for 2.50 at albertsons for 1/2 price and brought them to work. i gave most out. people were very excited tor eceive a free twinkie.[/quote]
I’m gonna go try to pick up a box today… My kid never had one..
November 18, 2012 at 8:05 AM #754867ocrenter
Participant[quote=flu]
I’m gonna go try to pick up a box today… My kid never had one..[/quote]
Funny you should say that, my kid has never had one either. I think my last Twinkie was in the early 90’s. that was around the last time we got wonderbread too.
November 18, 2012 at 8:40 AM #754868Hobie
ParticipantGood luck finding them now. There has been a run on them.
I predict they will be back in full production by the new year. They just cleared out their ‘problem children’ and still have fully a functioning production line and a strong brand. Ad agencies are probably working up a brilliant campaign to re-introduce the classic lunchbox treat of the baby boomers. Look at the good times associated with them in this thread. Sure these types of snacks have matured in favor for the less sugar healthier but there will always be a market for them. They are easy lunch additions. Uh, who carries a lunch anymore. 🙂 Will see. Maybe at a new, lower price ..at Walmarts everywhere;)
Ever tried a deep fried twinkie? You will be surprised when you actually like them!
November 18, 2012 at 12:42 PM #754874CoronitaParticipant[quote=Hobie]Good luck finding them now. There has been a run on them.
I predict they will be back in full production by the new year. They just cleared out their ‘problem children’ and still have fully a functioning production line and a strong brand. Ad agencies are probably working up a brilliant campaign to re-introduce the classic lunchbox treat of the baby boomers. Look at the good times associated with them in this thread. Sure these types of snacks have matured in favor for the less sugar healthier but there will always be a market for them. They are easy lunch additions. Uh, who carries a lunch anymore. 🙂 Will see. Maybe at a new, lower price ..at Walmarts everywhere;)
Ever tried a deep fried twinkie? You will be surprised when you actually like them![/quote]
I don’t think the problem is in the product. Yes, health conscious people aside, the company still had over $2billion in sales..And it’s a private company…
The problem is cost….It always is…A lot of people don’t get that…Well, I guess those unemployed ex-twinkies people have a better thing lined up now… Good for them.
I’m still betting money a multinational will pick them up… Like nestle..Or some overseas company…The key is the brand and the recipes….
November 18, 2012 at 12:49 PM #754875no_such_reality
Participant[quote=CA renter]
Exactly, OCR.This isn’t about unions bankrupting the company, it’s about a product that too few people want to buy. Back when we were kids, I’ll bet most of us (those of us over ~35) had a Hostess product in our lunchboxes at least once a week. These days, I’ll bet very, very few kids eat these, at least not nearly as often. I would feel guilty for years if my kids ate like I did back in the day.
Anyway, there’s another possible angle to the story, IMHO. This might be a way for the unions/employees to force the company into liquidation so that they can buy it out (maybe just the profitable parts). If the Teamsters were one of the primary bidders during the last BK, it’s entirely possible that they (and the bakers’ union) are eying an opportunity to buy the profitable lines at an even lower price than the first BK.
If this isn’t what they’re doing, then I’d agree that the baker’s union members are complete idiots.[/quote]
Well how very nice of them. Let’s destroy the company and take it for ourselves. Essentially, extorting from the owners.
How very vulture capital of them.
November 18, 2012 at 1:17 PM #754876SK in CV
Participant[quote=flu]
The problem is cost….It always is…A lot of people don’t get that…Well, I guess those unemployed ex-twinkies people have a better thing lined up now… Good for them.I’m still betting money a multinational will pick them up… Like nestle..Or some overseas company…The key is the brand and the recipes….[/quote]
Some of those ex-twinkie people probably do. I just read a story about one of them in KS. He worked for them for many years used to make $48K a year, but after a couple bankruptcies, his last pay rate put him down to $34K a year. About a year ago, $3 an hour of money that used to get deducted from his pay for his pension, got loaned to the company. Mandatory. And now it’s gone. Won’t be paid back. The new offer was an additional 8% pay cut, with an additional 27% pay cut over the next 5 years. Doubling the cost of his medical insurance with worse insurance. Elimination of all company paid retirement benefits. So over about 10 years, he’d go from $48K with good benefits, to $23,400 a year with almost no benefits.
His conclusion is that it will be pretty hard to replace the job he had. The one that paid him $4K a month plus benefits. But replace the $11.26 an hour with no benefits that they were offering? Not so much.
Oh, and over the last 10 years, the 6 CEO’s and other top management got big raises. Each one failed and each new one got paid more than the previous failed CEO. When this bankruptcy was filed, most got 300% raises.
November 18, 2012 at 2:34 PM #754878ParticipantGot sources for that?
Sadly the. Internal plundering of companies by the c-level is nothing new
A brand likentwinkies or ding doings makesnannice little cash cow for a employee owned to run. It also makes an even nicer target forenamed vulturen to strip and run
November 18, 2012 at 3:16 PM #754879Participant[quote=no_such_reality]Got sources for that?
Sadly the. Internal plundering of companies by the c-level is nothing new
A brand likentwinkies or ding doings makesnannice little cash cow for a employee owned to run. It also makes an even nicer target forenamed vulturen to strip and run[/quote]
source is http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/18/1162786/-Inside-the-Hostess-Bankery
November 18, 2012 at 4:28 PM #754882Participant[quote=no_such_reality]Got sources for that?
Sadly the. Internal plundering of companies by the c-level is nothing new
A brand likentwinkies or ding doings makesnannice little cash cow for a employee owned to run. It also makes an even nicer target forenamed vulturen to strip and run[/quote]
I posted the article above regarding the executives increasing bonuses and employee concessions over the years.
Call it whatever you want, the employees would be wise to rid themselves of the capitalists who bring very little to the table, yet manage to reward themselves very handsomely at the expense of the employees. Seems to me that the employees are fed up with the status quo, and rightfully so.
November 18, 2012 at 9:08 PM #754887
svelteParticipant[quote=JohnAlt91941][quote=svelte]
It’s funny, I can remember in my 20s buying a dozen donuts a few times a year so the 3 of us (me, wife, son) could have 4 each. That sounds so preposterous now that I can’t believe we did it. Luckily we kicked that habit before it caught up with us.[/quote]
Seriously? A few times a year would be a problem? Lighten up Francis.[/quote]
They taste like shit to me now. And nobody needs 4 donuts worth of sugar. Even a few times a year.
Sorry if that offends you.
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