Hostess May Shut Down If Strikers Don't Return To Work

Hostess Brands Inc. said it will ask a U.S. bankruptcy judge for permission to liquidate if enough striking workers do not return to work by the end of Thursday to let the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread resume normal operations.

Wednesday's announcement escalates a bitter dispute between the 82-year-old company and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, whose members constitute about one-third of Hostess' nearly 18,000 employees.