One thing I do expect regarding the Dec 15 401k matching date is that soon after we'll see a lot of employee departures. Almost everyone I talk to is sick of the stress and has been looking around. A few have just recently left, 401k match be damned. So maybe that's the 'voluntary' December RA. Maybe IBM defers in December just to gauge that and factor it into how many they let go in January.
This is spot on, @Qe09dEo-1bkg. This is why I'm not worried about any more layoffs before January. There will be a mass exodus before the end of the year, and it's impossible that higher ups don't know that. They've been intentionally creating work environment to facilitate voluntary departures. Which is why we might see a smaller scale layoff come January. They'll get rid of a number of people without paying the severance, and then lay off whatever is still required to achieve set numbers.