LISLE, IL -- Koch Industries will buy Molex in a deal worth some $7.2 billion. Molex is best-known as a designer and manufacturer of various types of board connectors, and also builds flex circuits and PCB assemblies.

ROME, NY -- The ESD Association is sponsoring a symposium highlighting best practices for EOS/ESD management in the factory. The four-day event, which includes exhibits, takes place Oct. 28-Nov. 1 in Penang, Malaysia.

TEMPE, AZ -- Jabil will close its EMS facility here over the next nine to 12 months, and potentially lay off more than 730 employees.

CUPERTINO, CA -- Apple is investigating claims of worker abuses at a Jabil factory in China, the company acknowledged. The company is again in the headlines after a New York-based nongovernmental organization alleged that workers at Jabil's Green Point plant in Wuxi, China, maintain workloads well above the national limits, have been shorted millions of dollars in overtime pay, and have suffered other abuses.