Bakery Downsizing Spokane Operations Wonder, Hostess Production Leaving

The Interstate Brands bakery in Spokane will cut its work force of 230 roughly in half this year and move all of its Northwest bread and roll production to a facility near Tacoma.

Interstate Brands Corp., maker of Wonder Bread and Hostess baked goods, began telling employees of the consolidation plan this week.

One employee said workers in the bakery unit were given nine-month layoff notices.

In addition to the Spokane facility at 803 N. Post, Interstate Brands has two baking operations in Seattle and one in Portland.

One facility in Seattle, which makes pastries, will not be affected by the company’s change, said Interstate Brands spokesman Mark Dirkes. However, operations at the Portland and Seattle breadmaking sites, like Spokane, will be moved to Tacoma and work forces cut in half.

Dirkes said most workers affected by the changes are unionized, and severance packages will be negotiated.

While the employees who bake Wonder Bread and Hostess cakes will lose their jobs here, Dirkes said the other workers, such as truck drivers, will continue to conduct sales and distribution.

Interstate Brands, a subsidiary of Kansas City, Mo.-based Interstate Bakeries Corp., runs its Spokane operation from a historic brick building near the Spokane Arena that was built in 1909.

Interstate Brands acquired the property when it merged with Continental Baking Co. in 1995. The building also housed the original Spokane Bakery.

Dirkes said it’s not yet certain whether that building will continue to be used for product distribution.

He said Interstate Brands bought the Tacoma-area facility earlier this year.

Interbake Foods once used the site to make cookies and crackers before it closed in late 1997.

Interstate Brands reportedly paid $4 million for the property.

Dirkes said the 150,000-square-foot facility will be furnished with new equipment before Interstate Brands begins bread and roll production next year. Dirkes said the company looked at expanding at existing sites before deciding to consolidate operations in Tacoma. However, the new plant will be more efficient with “much of the efficiencies coming from the line speed,” said Dirkes.

He did not say how many the new facility would employ or whether any workers would be transferred from Spokane.

In Portland, Interstate Brands employs 290. In Seattle, the company employs 390, not including the Hostess division, which will not be affected by the change, said Dirkes.

Last year, Interstate Bakeries had sales of $3.3 billion.