Mayo Medical Laboratories, a testing division of Mayo Clinic, will close its New England operations at the end of the year.
 
Mayo said it would use the next nine months to transition services at the Andover, Massachusetts facility to its Rochester headquarters. The 105 employees at the medical organization’s East Coast facility were informed of the closure on Tuesday morning and were invited to relocate or take a severance package.
 
“This was not an easy decision—in fact, it was an incredibly difficult decision,” Dr. William Morice, president of Mayo Medical Laboratories, said in a statement. “Our primary concern is helping the affected staff at this location in every way possible. As we transition … it is my hope that some of the staff in Andover will be interested in open positions at other Mayo locations.”
 
Mayo opened the clinical testing facility in Massachusetts several years ago after signing a 10-year lease agreement with the property owner. While that lease does not expire for some time, Mayo said the property owner requested that the company recommit to another long-term lease, which resulted in the facility’s closure.
 
“This testing facility is a highly successful operation in terms of quality, safety, productivity, and cost efficiency,” Dr. Morice said. “However, the facility is not near a Mayo Clinic medical practice. Our decision is based on the long-term future for this facility, not the great work that is performed here every day.”
 
The company said its human resource team would be meeting one-on-one over the next few days with the laboratory staff in Massachusetts to help transition them out of the facility by December 31, the day Mayo plans to officially cease operations.