State to aid displaced area Hostess workers

Missouri Rapid Response officials have been dispatched to aid workers facing displacement in the Springfield area due to the closure of Irving, Texas-based Hostess Brands Inc.

Tomorrow at the Missouri Career Center, 2900 E. Sunshine St., the Ozark Region Workforce Investment Board will meet with affected employees to offer them assistance in filing for unemployment benefits, searching for available area jobs and taking advantage of re-employment services available to them, including workshops, skills assessments, job search and resume assistance and training, according to a news release.

Missouri Department of Economic Development spokesman Keener Tippin said via email there are approximately 31 workers in the Springfield area who are affected. The workers are in retail management, route sales and retail sales positions, he said.

Last week, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved Hostess Brands' emergency interim motion to wind down its business and sell its assets. Hostess claims a nationwide strike initiated Nov. 9 by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union "crippled its operations at a time when the company lacked the financial resources to survive a significant labor action," according to HostessBrands.com.

Hostess plans to retain roughly 3,200 employees to assist with the initial phase of the wind-down, but the company's employees are expected to decrease by 94 percent within the first 16 weeks of the process. The entire process is expected to be completed in a year, and would result in the loss of 18,500 jobs and the closure of 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, approximately 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores, according to the website.

According to Thomas Becker, co-director of New York-based Sitrick And Co., which is handling media relations for Hostess, there are 959 Hostess employees in Missouri.