Hostess Brands Inc., the bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, said that it has sought court permission to go out of business after failing to get wage and benefit cuts from thousands of its striking bakery workers, Reuters reported today. Hostess said that a strike by members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union that began last week had crippled its ability to produce and deliver products at several facilities. The Irving, Texas-based company said the liquidation of the company would mean that most of its 18,500 employees would lose their jobs. Hostess said that it took the decision to liquidate the company after determining that not enough employees had returned to work by a deadline yesterday.
