Hostess went to a bankruptcy hearing in New York today for what, judging from the run on Twinkies and a general sense of mourning, would be the final blow to the struggling snack cake maker. The company filed a petition Friday asking for permission to liquidate, closing its manufacturing plant and laying off about 18,000 workers.
See previously: Hostess Is Shutting Down, But Don't Let the Right Fool You -- The Twinkie Will Live On
But Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y. had different plans. According to the Wall Street Journal, he suggested today that the company sit down with the striking Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International union for mediation.
"To me not to have gone through that step leaves a huge question mark over this case, which I think -- I may be wrong -- but I think will only be answered in litigation. And that's no one's desired outcome," the judge said, according to the Journal.
And Reuters is now reporting that both sides have agreed to talks on Tuesday, meaning that Hostess won't begin to shut down until at least Wednesday, when bankruptcy hearings are scheduled to resume.
It kind of makes you wonder if this wasn't the plan all along: management and workers pretend to be locked in an unresolvable conflict that could mean the extinction of an outmoded, unhealthy snack food to bolster the sales and relevance of said outmoded, unhealthy snack food. If so, it's working like a charm.
