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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 11 Commitments and Contingencies

Legal and other contingencies

The Company may be subject to various legal actions and claims in the ordinary course of its business, including those arising out of breach of contracts, intellectual property rights, environmental matters, regulatory matters and employment-related matters. The Company establishes accruals for matters which it believes that losses are probable and can be reasonably estimated. Although it is not possible to predict with certainty the outcome of these matters, the Company is of the opinion that the ultimate resolution of these

matters will not have a material adverse effect on its consolidated results of operations or financial position. Product liability and warranty reserves are recorded separately from legal reserves.

Product Liability and Warranty Matters

In the event that the Company’s products fail to perform as expected or result in alleged bodily injury or property damage, our products may subject us to warranty claims and product liability. If any of our products are or are alleged to be defective, we may be required to participate in a recall or other corrective action involving such products. The Company maintains liability insurance coverage at levels based on commercial norms and historical claims experience. 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.

The Company accrues warranty obligations for products sold based on management estimates of future failure rates and current claim cost experience, with support from the sales, engineering, quality and legal functions. Using historical information available to the Company, including claims already filed by customers, the warranty accrual is adjusted quarterly to reflect management’s best estimate of future claims.

The following is a reconciliation of the changes in accrued warranty costs:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Balance at beginning of year

 

$

1,916

 

 

$

2,391

 

Warranty opening balance from acquired entities

 

 

907

 

 

 

-

 

Warranty claims paid

 

 

(1,841

)

 

 

(2,164

)

Warranty expense for products shipped during the current period

 

 

1,584

 

 

 

1,813

 

Adjustments to warranty estimates from prior periods

 

 

(274

)

 

 

(73

)

Adjustments due to currency translation

 

 

88

 

 

 

(51

)

Balance at end of year

 

$

2,380

 

 

$

1,916

 

Other matters

Purchase commitments for materials, supplies, services and capital expenditures, as part of the normal course of business, are generally consistent from year to year. Commitments for capital expenditures as of December 31, 2022 were $6,853. In addition, due to supply shortages of semiconductors, the Company has entered into agreements with various suppliers to reserve the right to purchase certain semiconductor chips over rolling periods of 12-24 months, with volume commitments determined based on our anticipated production requirements. As of December 31, 2022, the Company’s total commitments for these semiconductor chip agreements was $40,130. Such agreements provide the Company with priority access to semiconductor chips as they become available, however, these agreements do not guarantee that our suppliers will meet the timing and quantities requested by Gentherm. All other purchase commitments as of December 31, 2022 were immaterial.

Employees

Approximately 31% of the Company’s workforce are members of industrial trade unions and are employed under the terms of various labor agreements. In 2023, certain agreements will require a vote on the terms of their respective labor contracts. Management does not anticipate any significant difficulties with respect to the renewal of these agreements.