MERGER-RELATED COSTS AND CHARGES

The following table presents pre-tax merger-related costs and other charges that we incurred in connection with the Starwood Combination:



	Three Months Ended					Nine Months Ended
($ in millions)	September 30, 2017			September 30, 2016		September 30, 2017		September 30, 2016
Merger-related costs and charges
Transaction costs	$	4		$	18	$	14	$	31
Employee termination costs	(3		)	186		9		186
Integration costs	27			24		77		33
	28			228		100		250
Interest expense	—			9		—		22
	$	28		$	237	$	100	$	272

Transaction costs represent costs related to the planning and execution of the Starwood Combination, primarily for financial advisory, legal, and other professional service fees. Employee termination costs represent adjustments or charges for employee severance, retention, and other termination related benefits. Integration costs primarily represent integration employee salaries and share-based compensation, change management consultants, and technology-related costs. Merger-related interest expense in the 2016 first three quarters reflects costs that we incurred for a bridge term loan facility commitment and incremental interest expense for debt incurred related to the Starwood Combination.

In connection with the Starwood Combination, we initiated a restructuring program to achieve cost synergies from our combined operations. We did not allocate costs associated with our restructuring program to any of our business segments. The following table presents our restructuring reserve activity during the 2017 first three quarters:



($ in millions)	Liability for employee termination costs
Balance at year-end 2016	$	192
Charges	4
Cash payments	(110		)
Adjustments ⁽¹⁾	(13		)
Balance at September 30, 2017, classified in “Accrued expenses and other”	$	73


⁽¹⁾	Adjustments primarily reflect the reversal of accruals for certain employees who accepted other positions at the Company or resigned and the impact of cumulative translation adjustments.