Canada

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Security personnel patrol the XL Foods cattle processing plant in Brooks, Alta., Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012. The Alberta plant at the centre of an E. coli scare is being allowed to resume limited operations.But the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says no meat will leave the XL Foods meat packer in Brooks until the agency has approved a full reopening.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A beef processing plant that has been at the centre of a massive recall announced the temporary layoff Saturday of approximately 2,000 people.

The XL Foods facility has been idle since Sept. 27 while federal officials and the company deal with E. coli contamination that has been linked to 15 illnesses and has involved a recall of its products from across North America.

A company news release said its employees have been receiving full pay for the past three weeks, but the temporary layoffs are necessary because the Canadian Food Inspection Agency can't indicate when the plant will get its license back.

"We have paid our valued team members out of a commitment to our workforce and to assist them through this difficult time," Brian Nilsson, co-CEO of XL, said in the news release.

"XL Foods is committed to the best interests of the cattle industry, our employees, the city of Brooks and all affected by the idling of the Brooks facility. We are hopeful that the CFIA will bring this to a swift and viable resolution."

The CFIA approved a limited reopening but said no meat could leave the facility until it has approved a full reopening.

In a statement late Saturday, the CFIA said it had been overseeing the cutting of carcasses in the plant that had tested negative for E. coli, but it said the company decided to stop operations after cutting only about half the carcasses, and as a result, the agency said it was unable to complete its assessment.

A spokesperson for Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said the halt to operations was directly linked to the layoffs.