KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hostess Brands, LLC, notified state and local officials last week it is implementing layoffs ahead of a plan to permanently close its entire facility in Lenexa.
The company issued the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification to the Kansas Department of Commerce, Johnson County Board of County Commissions and Lenexa city officials last Monday, July 29.
In the notice, the company said the layoffs and eventual closing would happen in phases, with the first layoffs set for Sept. 7, 2024.
A total of 79 employees working at the facility at 7905 Quivira Road in Lenexa will be impacted.
A spokesperson for Hostess Brands parent company J.M. Smucker said in a statement Monday to KSHB 41 any impacted employees “will be fully supported as they transition.”
“Following a thorough review of our operating model and business needs as we coordinate the integration of Hostess Brands, we have made updates to our organizational structure,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “With these decisions, some employees currently supporting the business will be exiting the company.”
The J.M. Smucker company acquired Hostess Brands in a $5.6 billion deal that went through in November 2023.
“Please know that any decision that impacts our employees is made only after careful consideration,” J.M. Smucker’s spokesperson said. “ We will manage this transition in a thoughtful manner and in alignment with our commitment to being respectful of the unique needs of every employee.”
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