KWIDZYN, POLAND -- Jabil reportedly will lay off hundreds of workers here and ask for wage concessions from remaining staff.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- With the second-generation iPad, Apple has held the line on the bill of materials, maintaining virtually the same costs as the first version of the device, an IHS iSuppli teardown analysis of the product has revealed.

HONG KONG – ASM's Siplace unit reported 2011 sales of $626.3 million, good for 37.8% of its new parent company's sales last year.

HERNDON, VA – The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative said it is driving two collaborative efforts related to microelectromechanical systems technology.

Efforts are now underway to develop the following R&D efforts: MEMS test methods and capabilities and MEMS reliability methodologies.   

“These first two R&D initiatives will focus on issues relating to reliability and test. These are areas that are common across the MEMS manufacturing supply chain, and it makes sense to take a collaborative approach to developing industry-wide solutions,” said iNEMI CEO Bill Bader.

Bader notes that the 2011 iNEMI Roadmap was the first edition of the consortium's roadmap to feature a separate chapter on MEMS. It examined the technology and business directions for MEMS technology over the next 10 years. Using this information, coupled with gap analysis and industry input, iNEMI said it has identified and prioritized several issues that must be addressed for the MEMS industry to continue moving forward. 

A one-day workshop is scheduled in Pittsburgh on May 10. Meeting objectives include: leveraging the iNEMI Roadmap and outcomes of the prior MEMS workshop to refine the areas identified for collaboration; identifying and evaluating additional opportunities that would benefit from industry collaboration related to MEMS manufacturing and deployment; forming action groups to define and execute the required collaborative programs, and defining research and development needs to support these programs.