NOTE 16. RESTRUCTURING COSTS AND BUSINESS DISPOSITIONS

We have incurred restructuring costs associated with the termination of employees, facility consolidations and other costs directly related to restructuring initiatives. These initiatives have resulted from the integration of acquired companies, as well as restructuring activities associated with cost containment and operational efficiency programs. Additionally, we have sold or shut-down certain non-core business units in 2010, and recorded gains or losses upon the sale, as well as costs associated with each transaction.

Supply Chain & Freight—Germany

In February 2010, we completed the sale of a specialized transportation and express freight business in Germany within our Supply Chain & Freight segment. As part of the sale transaction, we incurred certain costs associated with employee severance payments, other employee benefits, transition services, and leases on operating facilities and equipment. Additionally, we provided a guarantee for a period of two years from the date of sale for certain employee benefit payments being assumed by the buyer. We recorded a pre-tax loss of $51 million ($47 million after-tax) for this transaction in 2010, which included the costs associated with the sale transaction and the fair value of the guarantee. This loss is recorded in the caption “other expenses” in the statements of consolidated income.

Supply Chain & Freight—United States

In December 2010, we completed the sale of our UPS Logistics Technologies, Inc. business unit, which produced transportation routing and fleet management systems. We recognized a $71 million pre-tax gain on the sale ($44 million after tax), which is included in the caption “other expenses” in the consolidated income statement, and is included in the results of our Supply Chain & Freight segment. The operating results of the UPS Logistics Technologies, Inc business unit were not material to our consolidated or segment operating results in any of the periods presented.

U.S. Domestic Package Restructuring

In an effort to improve performance in the U.S. Domestic Package segment, we announced a program to streamline our domestic management structure in January 2010. As part of this restructuring, we reduced the number of domestic districts and regions in our U.S. small package operation in order to better align our operations geographically and allow more local decision-making and resources to be deployed for our customers. Effective in April 2010, we reduced our U.S. regions from five to three and our U.S. districts from 46 to 20. The restructuring eliminated approximately 1,800 management and administrative positions in the U.S. Approximately 1,100 employees were offered voluntary severance packages, while other impacted employees received severance benefits based on length of service, and access to support programs. We recorded a pre-tax charge of $98 million ($64 million after-tax) in the first quarter of 2010 related to the costs of this program, which reflects the value of voluntary retirement benefits, severance benefits and unvested stock compensation. During the remainder of 2010, we incurred additional costs related to the relocation of employees and other restructuring activities, however those costs were offset by savings from the staffing reductions.