Hostess Brands to hire more than 40 at snack cake bakery on Victory Drive

In the world of hiring, adding more than 40 workers is very sweet.

That will be the case at the Hostess Brands plant on Victory Drive in Columbus. The Georgia Department of Labor said Friday it is working with the snack-food manufacturer on a recruiting event to take place May 13 and 14. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. each day at the Columbus Career Center, 700 Veterans Parkway.

(Click here: Mando America and Cobb County Police Department also recruiting in Columbus)

The maker of the sugary snack cakes Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, Zingers, Sno Balls and Suzy Q’s needs more than 40 employees, with the positions being machine operator and utility production. Pay ranges from $14.60 to $15.68 per hour.

Guidelines include requiring all applicants to be at least 18 years old, with either a high school diploma or GED. It is preferred — but not required — that they have a year of experience with safety training under their belts.

Those interested in the jobs are encouraged to visit www.employgeorgia.com to create an account and upload a resume to make the application process quicker. Other job openings across Georgia also can be found on the site.

It has been nearly three years since the Hostess Brands Inc. plant at 1969 Victory Drive — referred to as the Dolly Madison plant — was reopened after being purchased out of U.S. bankruptcy court. Retail stores operated by the company, including one fronting the Columbus facility, were shuttered.

Kansas City, Mo.-based Hostess Brands LLC now operates the Columbus bakery, along with two others in Emporia, Kan., and Indianapolis. A fourth that reopened in Schiller Park, Ill., was closed in late 2014. The bankrupt Hostess Brands Inc. operated nearly a dozen plants at one point.

Hostess Brands LLC is owned by HB Holdings LLC, which itself is owned by investment firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co. At one point in 2015, there were reports that the revived Hostess Brands was being shopped around for sale, although that never materialized.

Hostess Brands LLC has not disclosed the employee count at the Columbus bakery, although as it was reopening in June 2013 the company said it hoped to eventually have the workforce up to 300. The Columbus plant opened in 1971 and employed as many as 1,200 people about 15 years ago. But staffing had fallen to around 420 heading into the bankruptcy in 2013.

For more information about the recruiting event, contact the Columbus Career Center at 706-649-7423.

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Hostess Brands to hire more than 40 at snack cake bakery on Victory Drive."