Kitchener will be affected by Ontario-wide cuts announced by the province’s largest provider of medical lab services.

LifeLabs plans to close a total of 15 patient labs across Ontario, including the one on Belmont Avenue in Kitchener.

Other locations in Waterloo Region and Guelph will remain open, although some could be among the 53 which will see reduced hours once the cuts take effect.

Last year, the province reduced its funding to community labs by $50 million.

In a statement on the company’s website, LifeLabs president Sue Paish said that the cuts are a result of that decision and other issues.

“Over the last several years, we have demonstrated tremendous efficiency by managing a growing volume of patients resulting in service and inflationary pressures while at the same time operating within a constrained fiscal environment,” Paish said.

A spokesperson for Health Minister Eric Hoskins said that closures are only happening in areas where services were being duplicated, and that they will have a “negligible” impact on patients.

In total, LifeLabs expects its cuts to mean 122 job losses.

With files from CTVNews.ca