Amazon’s COVID-19 testing facility in Hebron to close; 150 jobs to be lost – The Cincinnati Enquirer

A COVID-19 testing facility constructed in Hebron during the pandemic to test Amazon employees will close its lab operations in July and lay off 150 workers, according to acompany letter sent to Kentucky officials

The facility, which was built in a warehouse near theCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, was one of two diagnostic testing centers Amazon assembled at the height of the pandemic as outbreaks occurred among warehouse workers in multiple areas across the country. The decision to close the testing center will not affect the growing Amazon Air hub at CVG.

By February 11, 2021, the Kentucky lab had tested more than 1 million Amazon employees for COVID-19, according to a news release.

But as cases have dwindled followingthe rapid omicron surge earlier this year, and rapid at-home testing which was offered to all Americans by the federal government has increased, the need for testing facilities such as the one in Hebron,havedropped significantly.

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In a March 23 letter to Kentucky Career Services branch officemanager Michelle DeJohn and Boone County Judge/Executive Gary W. Moore, Amazon said it would begin ceasing testing operations at the Point Pleasant Road facility in July and noted certain employees would begin separation from working at the facility in June.

"Employee separations resulting from this action are expected to be permanent," Amazon human resources director Jen Detmer wrote in the letter. "The affected employees are not represented by a union or any other collective bargaining representative."

The letter said employee "separations" would take place on June 1, Sept. 4, and Nov. 1.

In July 2021, Amazon began selling at-home COVID-19 tests to the public that were then shipped to the company's Hebron lab and tested within 24 hours. The test kit cost $39.99.

In addition to at-home tests, the Hebron facility processed tests from more than 700 testing sites for Amazon workers.

The reason for erecting the laboratory was "a final step, on top of all our onsite COVID-19 precautions to ensure the health and safety of our front-line workers," according to AmazonVice President Cem Sibay.

The positions being eliminated from the facility range from medical lab managers to support engineers.

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Amazon's COVID-19 testing facility in Hebron to close; 150 jobs to be lost - The Cincinnati Enquirer