NOTE 2. RESTRUCTURING AND IMPAIRMENT COSTS

In November 2010, Universal decided to close its leaf tobacco processing facility in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. The Company will continue to buy tobacco grown in Canada, but will process that leaf at its U.S. factory in North Carolina. All full-time salaried personnel at the Simcoe location have been or will be terminated with the closure of the facility, and seasonal employees will not be rehired for the 2011 crop year. Under Canadian statutory and common law, the salaried employees and certain seasonal employees are entitled to termination benefits. The Company accrued the cost of these benefits, which totaled approximately $2.4 million, during fiscal year 2011, and they have been or will be paid to the employees shortly after their departure dates. Nearly all employees departed on or before March 31, 2011. Full-time salaried personnel had vested service under a defined benefit pension plan, and the Company incurred pension curtailment and settlement costs totaling approximately $4.1 million in connection with actions taken to terminate that plan. The Company determined that the Simcoe processing facility and a separate storage complex met the accounting requirements for classification as "held for sale" at the date the decision was made to close the operations. Based on terms of sale negotiated with a buyer for the processing facility and a separate offer for the storage complex, an impairment charge of approximately $5.6 million was recorded to write those assets down to their fair values, net of selling costs. The Canadian operations are included in the North America segment, and revenues and earnings for these operations have not been material to that segment in recent years.

In addition to the restructuring and impairment costs related to the decision to close the facility in Canada, the Company recorded other restructuring costs during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, associated with initiatives undertaken to adjust various operations and reduce costs. Most of the restructuring costs represent employee termination benefits associated with voluntary early retirement offers and involuntary separations at the Company's headquarters and operating locations in the United States, South America, Africa, and Europe that are part of the North America and Other Regions reportable segments.

A summary of the restructuring and impairment costs recorded through March 31, 2011, is as follows:

(in thousands of dollars)	Closure of Processing Facility in Canada		Other Restructuring and Cost Reduction Initiatives		Total
Restructuring Costs:
Employee termination benefits	$	2,412	$	8,743	$	11,155
Pension curtailment and settlement costs		4,081		—		4,081
Other costs		—		636		636
		6,493		9,379		15,872
Impairment Costs:
Property, plant and equipment		5,632		—		5,632
Total restructuring and impairment costs	$	12,125	$	9,379	$	21,504

A reconciliation of the Company's liability for the restructuring costs outlined above (excluding pension curtailment and settlement costs) through March 31, 2011, is as follows:

(in thousands of dollars)	Employee Termination Benefits			Other Costs			Total

Restructuring costs charged to expense during fiscal year 2011	$	11,155		$	636		$	11,791
Payments during fiscal year 2011		(4,769	)		(411	)		(5,180	)
Restructuring liability at March 31, 2011	$	6,386		$	225		$	6,611

The employee termination benefits outlined in the tables above relate to approximately 200 total employees, including those affected by the facility closure in Canada. Substantially all of the restructuring liability at March 31, 2011, will be paid before the end of fiscal year 2012. Universal continually reviews its business for opportunities to realize efficiencies, reduce costs, and realign its operations in response to business changes. The Company expects to incur additional restructuring costs and may also incur asset impairment charges in future periods as business changes occur and additional cost savings initiatives are implemented.