I believe that Hostess will some how re-tool and produce great products in “Right to Work” States or non-Union facilities.
I don’t think Hostess could shut down and relocate. The NLRB wouldn’t allow it. Look what happened to Boeing in SC. It would have to be done by a place that “happened to already have a factory” in a right to work, i.e. free state.
Re-name: quick fix, Hostess to Mostess (or something like that).
Recipe change: change just one tiny bit of those recipes and they are in the clear from some lawyer trying to shut them down again claiming planned union busting.
Hostess Brands (the post-2004 Bankruptcy name) was already headquartered in Texas, apparently its' union-related costs in other states were still killing it. Here's an excerpt from the company website:
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In addition to dozens of baking and distribution facilities around the country, Hostess Brands will sell its popular brands, including Hostess®, Drakes® and Dolly Madison®, which make iconic cake products such as Twinkies®, CupCakes, Ding Dongs®, Ho Ho’s®, Sno Balls® and Donettes®. Bread brands to be sold include Wonder®, Nature’s Pride ®, Merita®, Home Pride®, Butternut®, and Beefsteak®, among others.
The wind down means the closure of 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, approximately 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores throughout the United States.
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It is likely that the Hostess brand will resurface under new ownership (hopefully one that is smart enough to avoid the union-friendly states that kill profitability). Just don't bake, store or transport the products in those states, period. Sell the damned Twinkies to those markets by mail-order only.