Brookfield Hostess Store Among Those Facing Possible Layoffs

The Brookfield Hostess outlet store is among those that could face layoffs under a bankruptcy restructuring of the wholesale baking company.

Famous for its Twinkies and Wonder Bread, Hostess Brands Inc. notified the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development that it may lay off more than 180 workers in Wisconsin, according to a report by WAOW-TV in Wausau.

Nationally, Hostess mailed notices to all 18,500 Hostess Brands employees about the potential for layoffs.

"The notices were sent to alert employees that a sale or wind down of the company is possible in the future," Hostess spokesman Erik Halvorson said in an statement emailed to Patch.

"However, our goal is still to emerge from bankruptcy as a growing company with a strong future, and there are no immediate actions being taken to lay off employees or close facilities," he said. "We are simply fulfilling our requirements by sending these notices."

In Wisconsin, Hostess said it may have to shut down or significantly scale back operations at its plants in nine cities, including Brookfield, De Pere, Eau Claire, Greenfield, La Crosse, Madison, Oshkosh, Sheboygan and Wausau.

Layoff notices are required under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.