Restructuring and Impairment Charges

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Restructuring and Impairment Charges

Restructuring and Impairment Charges

5. Restructuring and Impairment Charges

For the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company recorded $14 million of pre-tax restructuring charges.  For the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company recorded $9 million for its Cost Smart cost of sales program.  During the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company recorded $5 million of restructuring charges in relation to the closure of the Lane Cove, Australia production facility, consisting of $3 million of asset write-offs, $1 million of accelerated depreciation, and $1 million of other costs. The Company expects to incur between $5 million and $7 million of additional restructuring costs during the remainder of 2020 related to the production facility closure. The Company also recorded $4 million of restructuring charges, primarily in North America, during the three months ended March 31, 2020. The restructuring charges recorded include $3 million of accelerated depreciation and $1 million of professional services.

Additionally, the Company recorded pre-tax restructuring charges of $5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2020 for its Cost Smart SG&A program. These costs include $3 million of other costs, including professional services, and $2 million of employee-related severance for the three months ended March 31, 2020. These charges were recorded primarily in the Company’s North America operations.

For the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company recorded $4 million of pre-tax restructuring charges.  For the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company recorded $3 million of employee-related severance and other costs in the South America and North America segments as part of its Cost Smart SG&A program, including $1 million of other costs associated with the Finance Transformation initiative in Latin America.  Additionally, the Company recorded $1 million of other costs as part of the Cost Smart cost of sales program in relation to the prior year cessation of wet-milling at the Stockton, California plant.

A summary of the Company’s employee-related severance accrual as of March 31, 2020 is as follows (in millions):

Balance in severance accrual as of December 31, 2019	$	15
Cost Smart cost of sales and SG&A		2
Payments made to terminated employees		(4)
Foreign exchange translation		(2)
Balance in severance accrual as of March 31, 2020	$	11

Of the $11 million severance accrual as of March 31, 2020, $10 million is expected to be paid in the next 12 months.

During the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company identified certain assets within the Stockton, California and Lane Cove, Australia locations that met the held for sale criteria. The Company began actively marketing these assets during the quarter. The Company expects to sell these assets at a fair value equal to or greater than the carrying value as of March 31, 2020, and did not record a gain or loss associated with the reclassification of these assets to held for sale for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The assets classified as held for sale are reflected in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as follows:

(in millions)		March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Other assets	$	13	$	—