XL Foods Inc. announced Saturday it will temporarily lay off 2,000 employees at its Brooks, Alta. facility, which is at the centre of a massive beef recall amid an E. coli scare.
The plant was shut down on Sept. 27 after problems with E. coli contamination were discovered at the facility, leading to the recall of more than 1,800 products. The plant had partially re-opened under CFIA supervision to process carcasses, but meat is not yet allowed to leave the plant.
“For the past three weeks employees have received full pay on their 32 hour weekly guarantee with few scheduled shifts available,” Brian Nilsson, co-CEO of XL Foods, said in a statement released Saturday.
“We have paid our valued team members out of a commitment to our workforce and to assist them through this difficult time.”
On Thursday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency allowed the company to resume limited operations at the plant.
The company was told it was allowed to process the 5,100 carcasses that are currently in the facility that tested negative for E. coli 0157:H7. But the resulting meat will be under “detention,” and will not be allowed to leave the plant until the CFIA is assured that the plant is effectively managing E. coli risks.
In a statement issued Saturday, the agency said it had informed the company that “its documented food safety plans are acceptable and that previously identified maintenance and sanitation issues have been addressed.”
The agency said that on Friday and Saturday, inspectors oversaw the cutting of carcasses, an activity it described as “a critical element in our assessment of the company’s E. coli safeguards.”
However, the company stopped operations after cutting about half of the carcasses, leaving the agency unable to complete its assessment.
“We are ready to continue our assessment as soon as the company resumes activities,” the CFIA said. “We recognize that the company wants to return to normal operations as soon as possible, but the CFIA has a responsibility to assure consumers that the plant can produce safe food.”
The agency said that it has authorized the plant to begin moving some meat products currently under detention to rendering, which is a method of disposal, on Monday.
The CFIA has not issued a timeline for when it will allow the plant to resume full operations.
The company said Saturday that it is the uncertainty surrounding the plant’s re-opening “that has forced the temporary layoffs.”
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz responded to the layoff notice with a statement saying his “thoughts are with the workers and the community affected” by the decision.
Ritz noted that CFIA inspectors “are working diligently” to ensure safety concerns at the plant are addressed.
“Consumer confidence is critical for Canada’s beef industry, and that’s why we won’t compromise when it comes to the safety of Canadians’ food,” Ritz said.
More than 1,800 products have been recalled since the E. coli contamination was discovered. Fifteen people in four provinces have also tested positive for the same strain of E. coli found at the facility.
The union that represents workers at the plant, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union local 401, blamed “poor management” for the layoffs.
Union president Doug O’Halloran told The Canadian Press that the layoffs may force hundreds of workers to leave Brooks, which would exacerbate a staff shortage.
"One of the problems in the past is that they don't have enough workers to operate the plant at full speed, and that has caused some of the issues that led to this," O'Halloran said Saturday.
O’Halloran said the union will help its members apply for employment insurance.
Earlier this week, the union called for a public inquiry into the outbreak, saying plant officials ignored workers’ concerns about safety. The plant replied to those concerns saying it has “an open door policy” for workers to air their concerns about plant operations.
Alberta Premier Alison Redford rejected the plea for a public inquiry.
