is offering the relocation option to employees who have been "notified of separation." It said that as part of the program, called Project Match, it will give workers financial aid to offset moving costs, assist them in securing visas and provide "other support to help ease the transition of an international move."

But people who agree to transfer must be "willing to work on local terms and conditions," IBM said.

The offer at least gives workers affected by the job cuts a choice, said , a professor at the and author of The Services Shift .

"What most of IBM's competitors are doing is just and hiring people in India," Kennedy said. "I would say from IBM's point of view, they're trying to meet people maybe not halfway, but a quarter of the way." However, programs like Project Match will likely appeal primarily to young people who don't have families or mortgages tying them down, he said.

IBM spokesman acknowledged that the program "is not for everybody." But, he said, it is "just one of many options available to IBMers whose jobs have been eliminated."