Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Sep. 01, 2011

Notes to Financial Statements [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

Employee Benefit Plans

We have employee retirement plans at our U.S. and international sites.  Details of the more significant plans are discussed as follows:

Employee Savings Plan for U.S. Employees

We have 401(k) retirement plans ("RAM Plans") under which U.S. employees may contribute up to 75% of their eligible pay (subject to IRS annual contribution limits) to various savings alternatives, none of which include direct investment in our common stock.  In 2011 we reinstated our match under the RAM Plans after being suspended in 2009. We match in cash eligible contributions from employees up to 5% of the employee's annual eligible earnings. Prior to the suspension of our match in 2009, we matched in cash eligible contributions from employees up to 4% of the employee’s annual eligible earnings or $2,000, whichever was greater.  Contribution expense for the RAM Plans was $26 million and $16 million in 2011 and 2009, respectively.

Retirement Plans

We have pension plans in various countries worldwide.  The pension plans are only available to local employees and are generally government mandated.  We have determined that these pension plans are not material for separate disclosure.