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Commitments and Contingencies
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Legal and Other Contingencies
As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company had recorded reserves for pending legal disputes, including commercial disputes and other matters, of $17.2 million and $14.0 million, respectively. Such reserves reflect amounts recognized in accordance with GAAP and typically exclude the cost of legal representation. Product liability and warranty reserves are recorded separately from legal reserves, as described below.
Commercial Disputes
The Company is involved from time to time in legal proceedings and claims, including, without limitation, commercial or contractual disputes with its customers, suppliers and competitors. These disputes vary in nature and are usually resolved by negotiations between the parties.
Product Liability and Warranty Matters
In the event that use of the Company’s products results in, or is alleged to result in, bodily injury and/or property damage or other losses, the Company may be subject to product liability lawsuits and other claims. Such lawsuits generally seek compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees and costs. In addition, if any of the Company’s products are, or are alleged to be, defective, the Company may be required or requested by its customers to participate in a recall or other corrective action involving such products. Certain of the Company’s customers have asserted claims against the Company for costs related to recalls or other corrective actions involving its products. The Company can provide no assurances that it will not experience material claims in the future or that it will not incur significant costs to defend such claims.
To a lesser extent, the Company is a party to agreements with certain of its customers, whereby these customers may pursue claims against the Company for contribution of all or a portion of the amounts sought in connection with product liability and warranty claims.
In certain instances, allegedly defective products may be supplied by Tier 2 suppliers. The Company may seek recovery from its suppliers of materials or services included within the Company’s products that are associated with product liability and warranty claims. The Company carries insurance for certain legal matters, including product liability claims, but such coverage may be limited. The Company does not maintain insurance for product warranty or recall matters.
The Company records product warranty reserves when liability is probable and related amounts are reasonably estimable.
A summary of the changes in reserves for product liability and warranty claims for each of the periods in the two years ended December 31, 2020, is shown below (in millions):
Balance as of January 1, 2019$28.5 
Expense, net, including changes in estimates17.9 
Settlements(15.2)
Foreign currency translation and other0.8 
Balance as of December 31, 201932.0 
Expense, net, including changes in estimates26.1 
Settlements(10.3)
Foreign currency translation and other0.9 
Balance as of December 31, 2020$48.7 
Environmental Matters
The Company is subject to local, state, federal and foreign laws, regulations and ordinances which govern activities or operations that may have adverse environmental effects and which impose liability for clean-up costs resulting from past spills, disposals or other releases of hazardous wastes and environmental compliance. The Company’s policy is to comply with all applicable environmental laws and to maintain an environmental management program based on ISO 14001 to ensure compliance with this standard. However, the Company currently is, has been and in the future may become the subject of formal or informal enforcement actions or procedures.
As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company had recorded environmental reserves of $8.9 million and $9.3 million, respectively. The Company does not believe that the environmental liabilities associated with its current and former properties will have a material adverse impact on its business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows; however, no assurances can be given in this regard.
Other Matters
The Company is involved from time to time in various other legal proceedings and claims, including, without limitation, intellectual property matters, tax claims and employment matters. Although the outcome of any legal matter cannot be predicted with certainty, the Company does not believe that any of the other legal proceedings or claims in which the Company is
currently involved, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse impact on its business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. However, no assurances can be given in this regard.
Although the Company records reserves for legal disputes, product liability and warranty claims and environmental and other matters in accordance with GAAP, the ultimate outcomes of these matters are inherently uncertain. Actual results may differ significantly from current estimates.
Employees
Approximately 47% of the Company’s employees are members of industrial trade unions and are employed under the terms of various labor agreements. Labor agreements covering approximately 85% of the Company’s global unionized workforce of approximately 82,500 employees, including labor agreements in the United States and Canada covering approximately 1% of the Company’s global unionized workforce, are scheduled to expire in 2021. Management does not anticipate any significant difficulties with respect to the renewal of these agreements.