Hostess Brands Chief Executive Gregory Rayburn said it is “hard to handicap” whether union workers will vote to accept a final offer to save the bankrupt bakery.
The Teamsters on Monday will mail roughly 8,000 Hostess workers ballots on the proposal, which entails an 8-percent wage cut the first year and a 75-percent reduction in pension contributions, Rayburn told The Post.
The wage cut applies to all 19,000 Hostess workers. In addition, Hostess will not start contributing to the pensions again until 2015.
Under the proposal, Hostess creditors — mainly hedge funds — would own 75 percent of the business and the bakery’s unions the rest. Present owner, private-equity firm Ripplewood Holdings, would be wiped out.
If the unions accept the plan, Hostess could emerge from bankruptcy in December, Rayburn said.
Hostess is starting a search for a new CEO to replace Rayburn, whose expertise is restructuring.
If the company liquidates, Rayburn said there will be buyers for brands including Wonder Bread and Twinkies.