EMPLOYEE SEPARATION ACTIONS AND EXIT AND DISPOSAL ACTIVITIES

We record costs associated with voluntary separations at the time of employee acceptance, unless the acceptance requires explicit approval by the Company. We record costs associated with involuntary separation programs when management has approved the plan for separation, the affected employees are identified, and it is unlikely that actions required to complete the separation plan will change significantly. When a plan of separation requires approval by the labor group or the government, the costs are recorded after the required consultation process is complete. Costs associated with benefits that are contingent on the employee continuing to provide service are accrued over the required service period.

Business Restructuring - Europe

In October 2012, we committed to commence a transformation plan for our Ford Europe operations. The plan included the closure of two U.K. facilities — an assembly plant in Southampton, and a stamping and tooling plant in Dagenham — in 2013, and a major assembly plant in Genk, Belgium by the end of 2014. Before finalizing our separation plan in Genk, we engaged in a consultation process with the unions, which was completed in June 2013.

Separation-related costs, recorded in Automotive cost of sales and Selling, administrative and other expenses, include both the costs associated with the voluntary separation programs in the U.K. and the involuntary employee actions at Genk, as well as payments to suppliers. The following table summarizes the activity (excluding $132 million of pension-related costs discussed in Note 10) recorded in Accrued liabilities and deferred revenue, for the period ended June 30 (in millions):



	First Half 2013
Beginning balance	$	—
Changes in accruals	287
Payments	(2		)
Foreign currency translation	2
Ending balance	$	287

Our current estimate of total separation-related costs for the U.K. and Genk facilities is approximately $1 billion, excluding approximately $200 million of pension-related costs discussed in Note 10.