Layoffs, Bankruptcy | featured news

Hostess Brands says it is going out of business, closing plants that make Twinkies and Wonder Bread and laying off all of its 18,500 workers. The Irving, Texas, company says a nationwide worker strike crippled its ability to make and deliver its products at several locations.

San Bernardino must cut government spending by a third, almost assuredly resulting in widespread layoffs or pay reductions for city workers, as it prepares to officially file for bankruptcy protection, city officials said.

Stagnant revenue and rising employee costs threaten City Hall with a $222-million shortfall, official says. A proposal to outsource ambulance services provokes anger from firefighters union. Los Angeles' top budget official raised the specter of bankruptcy Friday in a sweeping report that calls for new taxes, possible layoffs and the privatization of some city services.

A California solar-panel manufacturer once touted by President Barack Obama as a beneficiary of his administration's economic policies -- and the recipient of a $535 million federal loan -- is laying off 1,100 workers and filing for bankruptcy.