STAFFORD, TX -- Flextronics will close its EMS plant here and lay off 150 workers, according to the company.

GALWAY, IRELAND -- Celestica has hired nearly 140 additional workers at its campus here to meet growing demand for EMS work from new and existing customers.

WASHINGTON, DC — Worldwide semiconductor sales in 2012 reached $291.6 billion, down 2.7% year-over-year but still good for the industry’s third-highest yearly total, the Semiconductor Industry Association announced.

BANGKOK – Fabrinet reported second-quarter fiscal 2013 revenue of $167.4 million, up 73.3% year-over-year.

ANGLETON, TX – Benchmark Electronics reported fourth-quarter revenue of $634 million, up 13% year-over-year, and up 4% sequentially.

PARDUBIZE, CZECH REPUBLIC -- Foxconn has finalized a lease of 15,500 m² of industrial space here, a real estate trade journal is reporting.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Jabil Circuit will acquire precision plastic manufacturer Nypro for $665 million in cash. The deal is expected to close by March 31.

TAIPEI -- Is Foxconn going to unionize?

JASPER, IN -- Kimball International reported fiscal second quarter net EMS sales rose 11% from last year on growth in the automotive, industrial and public safety industries.

ECHT, LIMBURG, THE NETHERLANDS -- Neways Electronics plans to close its factory here, the company said, citing continued volatility in the electronics manufacturing services market and the persistent imbalance in capacity utilization.

HONG KONG -- SMT Holdings began its climb back from bankruptcy by turning in a profitable December quarter.

TAIPEI -- Foxconn International Holdings, the cellphone design and manufacturing arm of Hon Hai, has seen capacity utilization rates fall below 50%, according to a new report.