Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 9 S E P T E M B E R 7 , 2 0 2 0 A producer of COVID-19 testing kits will add 1,200 jobs in Maine B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n W e s t b r o o k — Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), which has a site in Scarborough and a new manu- facturing site in Westbrook, said it will hire up to 1,200 people in Maine to help with production of COVID-19 testing kits. The workers will be at the new site in Westbrook, at 5 Bradley Drive, which has undergone a rapid construc- tion process. Abbott said hiring is already underway. Abbott has more than Maine 800 employees now, so the hiring plans will significantly increase the com- pany's workforce here. Of the 1,200 new jobs, 300 will be permanent and the others will be temporary. Many will be entry level positions with on-the-job training. The jobs will be specifically related to the produc- tion of Abbott's new BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card rapid test. The test is intended to be portable, about the size of a credit card, affordable and offers results in 15 minutes. "Abbott is committed to developing important tools to help fight COVID-19," Vildan Kehr, divisional vice president for talent and acquisition, said in a news release. "These jobs will not only make that possible, but also help Americans feel a little more confident about their health and lives." To date, Abbott has launched six tests in the U.S. for COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The tests range from rapid point-of-care tests to detect the virus in minutes to lab-based molecular and antibody tests. The company has provided more than 27 mil- lion tests to all 50 states in the U.S. and continues to deliver to healthcare providers on the front lines. Abbott, which is based in Chicago, has 107,000 employees in 160 countries. It produces a range of health care technology, and has businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutrition- als and branded generic medicines. It had sales of $31.9 billion last year. Abbott has been very active in Maine recently. In August, Mainebiz reported that the company acquired its Scarborough site for $17 million. For more information, click here. To apply for the jobs, send your resume in an email to RecruitingProject@abbott.com with the subject line "Westbrook." @ B R I E F Abbott Laboratories, which has a new manufacturing site in Westbrook (pictured here, under construction this summer), said it will hire up to 1,200 people in Maine to help with production of COVID-19 testing kits. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY

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