It wasn’t the Baker’s Union that killed Hostess, so, what went wrong with our favorite snack cake maker? Was it greed? Was it unsatisfied workers? Or was it an uncaring American public? What is Twinkie’s defense?
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the possible disbandment of an American brand that managed survived for 80 years through world wars and bomb fears. Although I doubt the Baker’s Union caused the downfall of a company undergoing multiple fractures in the past seven-ten years, which particular issue catalyzed the company’s downfall or was it multiple items simultaneously?
Was it worker dissatisfaction?
Was it a poor work environment?
Was it a poor work environment that contributed to the company’s downfall? Hostess brands recommended a 17% cut in health benefits, a decrease of its $100 million annual pension balance obligation, a worker pay cut by 8%, and raised worker healthcare costs by 20%. But worker dissatisfaction didn’t start recently. Looking at Glassdoor.com, Hostess had negative worker reactions that increased four-five weeks ago. In as far back as February and April 2012 — and most recently in August and September, workers complained about cut wages, lost benefits and overpaid management who didn’t understand the business. None of the reviews are 100% positive, but they grew increasingly negative as they shifted towards September. In April 30, 2012, a Gulfport, MS employee wrote “The company is in financial turmoil, upper management is clueless, lies are abundant and the employee is not valued.” Five weeks ago a WI employee wrote “lots of hours,first start out 70 ours a week.” Four weeks ago another worker typed, “It was a good job before they took nearly 1/4th of the salary away.” Heck, there are concerned posts in October 2010 with titles, “Struggling to Gain Traction” and “We need to go back 30 years.”
Continue reading 'Hostess — What went wrong?' »
Photo Credit: Drummer Boy/MorgueFile
CliqueClack
