Hostess Starts Firing People

Yesterday a judge gave Hostess the OK to start winding down its operations, and the Twinkies maker isn't wasting any time. Bloomberg reports that the company has begun firing employees, with the CEO saying Hostess intended to fire 15,000 workers yesterday so their unemployment benefits could kick in. Another 3,200 will hang on to their jobs in the short-term, in order to scrub the plants and, less delightful-sounding, mothball equipment. Reuters reports that they'll likely be out of a job within four months, as Hostess says that it expects to need only 200 employees by the end of March. (More Hostess stories.)