Hostess is going out of business

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) -- Hostess, the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread is going out of business and will be a big loss for some Connecticut families.

Hostess has been in financial trouble for years. It asked its unions to take pay cuts, and the baker's union said no and went on strike. With bakers still walking the picket line, the company says it is closing for good, putting all 18,000 employees out of work.

"Which affects us. You know, I have a house and kids," Hector Atanacio, a Hostess employee, said.

News 8's Kent Pierce said, "and we're coming up on the holidays. Could not be worse timing."

"Yup," Atanacio said.

Truck mechanic Hector drew a cartoon of what he thinks of his baker colleagues.

"They're going to lose their house and lose their car and then their wife will say I told you not to strike," Atanacio said.

Most of Connecticut's 200 Hostess employees are part of the teamsters union, which voted to take the pay cuts to keep the company going.

"It passed by 53-47% nationwide. It was a close vote, but the members are working and they have health and insurance benefits," Frank O'Toole of Teamsters Local 145 said.

Or at least they did. The company could start shutting down as early as Tuesday.

Obviously this is terrible news for the couple hundred people who work in distribution centers like the one in Bridgeport, but for the customers, like the ones who shop at this outlet across the street, well, they're not happy either.

"I'm going to miss coming in and taking advantage of the price breaks and interacting with the girls," Kietha Thompson of Bridgeport said.

"We're going to miss Twinkies, unfortunately. It's a sad day," Russ Sciuto of Bridgeport said.

"You're doing some stocking up," News 8's Pierce asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to fill the freezer up. I'm heading down to Georgia, so I'm bringing stuff down to my grandkids," Sciuto said.

Sure, we'll miss all the iconic snack treats, but the bakers' strike will make it tough for thousands of employees to put any food on the table.

"I don't know what they were looking for, to walk out on a job today is insane," Sciuto said.