Hostess Brands Inc., the bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, is asking a judge for final approval of its plan to cease operations under current management, while members of the bakers’ union want a chapter 11 trustee to oversee its wind-down, Bloomberg News reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain is scheduled today to consider Hostess’s request to close and its bid to pay as much as $1.75 million in incentive bonuses to 19 senior managers during the wind-down. Judge Drain granted Hostess interim approval at a Nov. 21 hearing after last-minute mediation with its bakers’ union failed to resolve a contract dispute, leaving more than 18,000 jobs at risk. Drain had urged the mediation on Nov. 19 to keep the foundering company afloat.
