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Deere & Co , the world's largest maker of farm equipment, will lay off more than 900 employees at plants in Iowa and Illinois in the latest round of job cuts spurred by a decline in grain prices that is hurting demand for agricultural machinery. The layoffs, which represent about 3 percent of Deere's workforce in the United States and Canada, are set to begin early next month, the company said in a statement. The cuts at facilities that build agricultural equipment reflect Deere's attempt "to align the size of its manufacturing workforce to market demand for products," according to...

Politics: Rep. Henry Waxman vowed to haul CEOs into hearings after they revealed just how much ObamaCare will cost their firms. It's an absurd war on bookkeeping, from a Congress desperate to avoid heat for this fiasco. In the wake of President Obama's presidential signature on the gargantuan Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act last Thursday, big companies have crunched their numbers and come up with an ugly picture. In legally mandated filings, AT&T reported that ObamaCare will cost it $1 billion. Deere & Co. reported $150 million in new costs. Caterpillar must cough up $100 million. 3M must pay...

The latest addition to the mounting list of U. S. companies that have been hit by the new health care law is AT&T Inc. The company stated on Friday that it would incur $1 billion in non-cash expenses in the first quarter of the year. The announcement made by AT&T has been the largest amount reported till now. On comparison, Deere & Co. stated that it will be shelling out a one-time expense of $150 million and Caterpillar Inc. reported a first quarter charge of $100 million. Among the many changes that have come about since its enactment, the health...

NEW YORK – AT&T Inc. will take a $1 billion non-cash accounting charge in the first quarter because of the health care overhaul and may cut benefits it offers to current and retired workers. The charge is the largest disclosed so far. Earlier this week, AK Steel Corp., Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co. and Valero Energy announced similar accounting charges, saying the health care law that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday will raise their expenses. On Friday, 3M Co. said it will also take a charge of $85 million to $90 million.

Health Reform: As major businesses lay out the impact of ObamaCare in dollars and jobs, two things are clear: the costs will be enormous, and the president's vow to focus on "jobs, jobs, jobs" can no longer be believed. Early returns on ObamaCare are coming in, and they belie proponents' claims of job creation and cost reduction. The costs will increase. They are merely being shifted to the states and to America's businesses, large and small. AT&T, the country's largest telephone company, announced Friday it will take a $1 billion first-quarter charge related to the new health care law. The...

Congress passed the bill without knowing what was in it. Barack Obama signed it without reading it. Now it looks as though the Associated Press reported on ObamaCare without comprehending its content. Readers will have to scroll far down to discover that the elimination of a key tax break that kept retirees on company prescription-medication plans will mean dumping millions of seniors onto Medicare — and that the AP ignored it until now: The health care overhaul will cost U.S. companies billions and make them more likely to drop prescription drug coverage for retirees because of a change in how...

Companies Take Health-Care ChargesDeere Joins Caterpillar, AK Steel in Toting Up Costs of Overhaul; White House Disputes AccountingBY KRIS MAHER, ELLEN E. SCHULTZ AND BOB TITA MARCH 26, 2010 In the wake of Washington's health-care overhaul, some companies are taking big one-time charges for anticipated costs, fanning tension with the administration over the legislation's impact on corporate America. Three companies that were among vocal opponents of the legislation have warned they would see an immediate impact on their earnings as a result of the loss of deductions on tax-free subsidies they receive for providing retiree prescription-drug benefits. On Thursday, Deere...

Deere & Co. (DE) will put 367 employees on indefinite layoff at its East Moline, Ill., factory later this month due to reduced demand. The world's largest maker of farm equipment has been shedding jobs at several of its factories by a few hundred employees at a time throughout the year because of the demand slump. Still, the figures have been relatively small, as Deere has over 50,000 employees.

MOSSVILLE, Ill., Sept 21 (Reuters) - Mark Pflederer dreams of dancing bulldozers. Pflederer, the chief technology officer at heavy machinery maker Caterpillar Inc. (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), believes that, within a few years, his company's earthmovers will be able to operate without drivers, spinning around each other on worksites like dancers in a robotic ballet choreographed by onboard computers and satellite-based navigation systems. "Ten or 15 years down the road," he says, "it's not too much of a stretch to think that we could run multiple bulldozers, wheel loaders or trucks on a site and move the operators to a...

Pontiac, SC - It has been announced in local media (Columbia, SC) that the John Deere plant in Pontiac, SC, is being shut down. The plant has been subject to twice weekly protests by Southern heritage supporters since October, 2000. The protests, organized by Dean Weems, were the result of John Deere management firing two employees due to their love of their heritage. Bill Van Der Hoff, a mechanic, was fired for refusing to remove a 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 inch Confederate Battle flag sticker from his personally owned tool box. Another employee, Gary Waller, was fired for the ...

The walking forest machine is Plustech's best-known innovation. The goal of product development was to create a machine that has the best possible working stability and minimum impact on the terrain. The walking machine adapts automatically to the forest floor. Moving on six articulated legs, the harvester advances forward and backward, sideways and diagonally. It can also turn in place and step over obstacles. Depending on the irregularity of the terrain, the operator can adjust both the ground clearance of the machine and heigh of each step. The machine's nerve center is an intelligent computer system that controls all walking...