(CN) - Hostess Brands will shut up shop for good, after failing to reach an agreement with a union on Tuesday.
A federal bankruptcy judge on Monday, noting that tens of thousands of jobs were on the line, ordered the company and its union to enter mediation.
But Hostess announced late Tuesday that it failed to reach an agreement with its second biggest union.
The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, which represents about 30 percent of the company's workers, went on strike Nov. 9. Hostess shut down its plants last week, claiming the strike crippled its ability to maintain production.
The union claims that the shutdown is the result of decades of mismanagement and that its members have already given concessions over the years.
Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho-Hos, Sno-Balls and Wonder Bread, asked the bankruptcy judge on Monday for permission to start liquidating its assets. The judge urged the parties to give it one last show.
Hostess will return to the hearing today (Wednesday), and ask again whether it can start liquidating its assets.
Hostess is expected to sell the rights to Twinkies and some of its other products, which thus could remain in the marketplace, under new owners.
