Abbott announced Thursday it will hire 1,200 people as its Westbrook facility prepares for the production of a new $5 coronavirus testing kit.
The Chicago-based company said 300 of those positions will be permanent hires, while the remainder will be temporary. The jobs include many positions that don’t require technical experience and workers can be trained on the job.
“Abbott is committed to developing important tools to help fight COVID-19,” Vildan Kehr, divisional vice president of talent and acquisition at Abbott, said in a Thursday morning statement. “These jobs will not only make that possible, but also help Americans feel a little more confident about their health and lives.”
The new test, which received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, costs $5 and is about the size of a credit card. Abbott said the test will provide results in 15 minutes.
The test doesn’t require additional equipment and the company called it “an important tool” for managing the spread of the disease, which has infected nearly 4,400 Mainers and killed more than 130.