Salt Lake, Ogden to Get Boise Bakery Work- 129 in Boise to lose jobs

Interstate Bakeries Corp., the maker of Hostess Twinkies and Wonder bread, plans to close its Boise bakery in late May and transfer production to its bakeries in Salt Lake City and Ogden.

By Steven Oberbeck
The Salt Lake Tribune

However, the shutdown in Boise, which will affect about 129 employees, will not result in any employment increases at either of the Utah bakeries, Interstate spokesman Mark Dirkes said.

Interstate’s Salt Lake and Ogden bakeries produce bread and snack cakes for the Las Vegas market but the company will open a new production facility next month in Henderson, Nev., to make bakery goods for that market, Dirkes explained.

When Interstate opens in Henderson, Utah’s bakeries will have excess capacity.

"Salt Lake and Ogden are extremely efficient bakeries so we will be moving our Boise production there. But . . . there will be no increase in employment in Utah," Dirkes noted.

Combined, Interstate’s Salt Lake and Ogden facilities employ approximately 320 production workers. The company operates 61 bakeries across the country.

Interstate last month said it wanted to focus on its more efficient operations and would close some bakeries to cut costs. The new Henderson bakery just outside Las Vegas will be able to produce bread twice as fast as the Boise bakery.

The company’s shares, which closed Wednesday at $10.30, are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. They are down 58 percent from mid-February when Interstate cut its annual profit forecast. At that time, the company indicated it intended to close about 100 thrift stores, which offer still fresh but unsold bread and snacks pulled from grocers’ shelves.

Details about those store closings, as well as a report on expenses associated with the closing of the company’s Boise facility, will be presented in Interstate’s next quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission in late April, Interstate’s chief executive James Elsesser said in a company statement.

— Steven Oberbeck

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Mar/03272003/business/42136.asp