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later one". The fact that the ITO II program provided for a
leave of absence which ultimately determined the effective date
of petitioner's retirement further supports our conclusion that
the ITO payment was severance pay related to retirement.
Our conclusion is further supported by the fact that the ITO
II program was implemented to "reduce the number of employees"
and to "help IBM become more competitive and efficient". The
first page of the ITO II program documents includes a "Summary
Plan Description" that states:
Due to staffing dynamics and IBM's need to become more
competitive and efficient, IBM intends to reduce the
number of employees in eligible skill families at
various locations. * * * The program is intended to
help IBM become more competitive and efficient by
reducing its workforce while retaining essential skills
and to assist employees who choose to participate in
the program in making the transition into a new career
or retirement. The ITO II program is voluntary;
however, if we do not have sufficient volunteers for
the ITO II program, IBM will continue to take
involuntary actions in the near future * * *
The fact that eligibility for participation in the ITO II
program was determined, in part, by whether the employee's
position fell within certain "functional skill families" also
supports our conclusion. Eligibility for participation in the
ITO II program was determined as follows:
The ITO II Project Office will establish 'functions'
within IBM. Within each function, the Project Office
will group similar skills together into 'families'
creating functional skill families. Based on these
business decisions, management will decide which
functional skill families are eligible to participate
in the program. * * *
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