RESTRUCTURING CHARGES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]

RESTRUCTURING CHARGES

NOTE 5. RESTRUCTURING CHARGES

On December 11, 2019, we announced that we had made the decision to permanently close a chlor alkali plant with a capacity of 230,000 tons and our vinylidene chloride (VDC) production facility, both in Freeport, TX.  These closures are expected to be completed before the end of 2020.  For the year ended December 31, 2019, we recorded pretax restructuring charges of $58.9 million for non-cash impairment of equipment and facilities related to these actions. We expect to incur additional restructuring charges through 2024 of approximately $50 million related to these actions.

On December 10, 2018, we announced that we had made the decision to permanently close the ammunition assembly operations at our Winchester facility in Geelong, Australia. Subsequent to the facility’s closure, products for customers in the region are sourced from Winchester manufacturing facilities located in the United States. For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, we recorded pretax restructuring charges of $0.4 million and $4.1 million, respectively for the write-off of equipment and facility costs, employee severance and related benefit costs, lease and other contract termination costs and facility exit costs related to this action. For the year ended December 31, 2019, we also recorded additional pretax restructuring charges of $1.4 million for employee severance and related benefit costs related to our Winchester operations.

On March 21, 2016, we announced that we had made the decision to close a combined total of 433,000 tons of chlor alkali capacity across three separate locations. Associated with this action, we have permanently closed our Henderson, NV chlor alkali plant with 153,000 tons of capacity and have reconfigured the site to manufacture bleach and distribute caustic soda and hydrochloric acid. Also, the capacity of our Niagara Falls, NY chlor alkali plant has been reduced from 300,000 tons to 240,000 tons and the chlor alkali capacity at our Freeport, TX facility was reduced by 220,000 tons. This 220,000 ton reduction was entirely from diaphragm cell capacity. For the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, we recorded pretax restructuring charges of $15.8 million, $15.7 million and $32.6 million, respectively, for the write-off of equipment and facility costs, lease and other contract termination costs, employee severance and related benefit costs, employee relocation costs and facility exit costs related to these actions. We expect to incur additional restructuring charges through 2020 of approximately $5 million related to these capacity reductions.

For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, we recorded pretax restructuring charges of $2.1 million and $3.3 million, respectively, for lease and other contract termination costs and facility exit costs related to our permanent reduction in capacity at our Becancour, Canada chlor alkali facility in 2014.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, we recorded pretax restructuring charges of $1.7 million for employee severance and related benefit costs related to the relocation of our Winchester centerfire pistol and rifle ammunition manufacturing operations from East Alton, IL to Oxford, MS that was announced in 2010 and completed in 2016.

The following table summarizes the activities by major component of these restructuring actions and the remaining balances of accrued restructuring costs as of December 31, 2019:

	Employee severance and related benefit costs			Lease and other contract termination costs			Employee relocation costs			Facility exit costs			Write-off of equipment and facility			Total
	($ in millions)
Balance at January 1, 2017	$	3.4		$	7.5		$	—		$	1.8		$	—		$	12.7
2017 restructuring charges	2.0			22.1			0.3			11.7			1.5			37.6
Amounts utilized	(3.6		)	(26.3		)	(0.3		)	(13.5		)	(1.5		)	(45.2		)
Balance at December 31, 2017	1.8			3.3			—			—			—			5.1
2018 restructuring charges	1.7			5.6			—			12.0			2.6			21.9
Amounts utilized	(2.0		)	(2.9		)	—			(11.3		)	(2.6		)	(18.8		)
Balance at December 31, 2018	1.5			6.0			—			0.7			—			8.2
2019 restructuring charges	2.1			0.9			—			14.6			58.9			76.5
Amounts utilized	(3.6		)	(3.8		)	—			(15.3		)	(58.9		)	(81.6		)
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	—		$	3.1		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	3.1

The following table summarizes the cumulative restructuring charges of these restructuring actions by major component through December 31, 2019:

	Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls						Winchester				Total
	Becancour		Capacity Reductions		Freeport		Oxford		Other
	($ in millions)
Write-off of equipment and facility	$	3.5	$	78.1	$	58.9	$	—	$	2.6	$	143.1
Employee severance and related benefit costs	2.7		6.6		—		14.7		2.7		26.7
Facility exit costs	5.9		48.2		—		2.3		0.2		56.6
Pension and other postretirement benefits curtailment	—		—		—		4.1		—		4.1
Employee relocation costs	—		1.7		—		6.0		—		7.7
Lease and other contract termination costs	6.1		40.9		—		—		0.4		47.4
Total cumulative restructuring charges	$	18.2	$	175.5	$	58.9	$	27.1	$	5.9	$	285.6

As of December 31, 2019, we have incurred cash expenditures of $134.9 million and non-cash charges of $147.6 million related to these restructuring actions.  The remaining balance of $3.1 million is expected to be paid out through 2021.