Posted: December 11th, 2009 - 3:31am by Doug Powell

Big Boy Restaurants International will lay off 88 workers and close its ready-to-eat-meals subsidiary in Warren, Michigan, after the government ordered a recall of its product due to fears of Listeria contamination.

The company notified the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth of the pending layoffs today, as required by law.

In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Big Boy Food Group, a subsidiary of the restaurant chain, was recalling almost 40,000 pounds of the ready-to-eat meal kits due to the health concerns.

In its notice to the state, Big Boy cited the problems with the ready-to-eat operation and a USDA order to shut down.