On September 23, 2019, the Company committed to a restructuring plan to improve the Company’s manufacturing productivity and rationalize its footprint. Under this plan, the Company will relocate and consolidate certain existing automotive manufacturing and, as a result, reduce the number of plants by two. On March 20, 2020, the Company announced the initial phase of this restructuring plan, which includes the consolidation of all North American electronics manufacturing to Celaya, Mexico. This will result in the closure of the Burlington, Canada facility, and the transfer of electronics manufacturing from Acuña, Mexico. During the second quarter of 2020, due to circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, management adjusted the plan to proactively manage its cash position. Adjustments to the plan have resulted in changes to the estimated number of employee separations and total costs to execute the plan. On December 10, 2020, the Company announced the consolidation of our electronics manufacturing in Asia to Bantian, Shenzhen, China, which will result in the closure of our Longgang, Shenzhen, China facility that is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recognized restructuring expense of $(832) for employee separation costs, $687 for accelerated depreciation and $332 for other costs. The net activity for the year ended December 31, 2020 is primarily related to a reduction in the estimates of previously recognized employee separation costs. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recognized restructuring expense of $4,863 for employee separation costs, and $2,087 of accelerated depreciation and fixed asset impairment. The Company has recorded approximately $7,137 of restructuring expenses since the inception of this program.

Under the revised restructuring plan, the Company expects to incur total costs of between $16,000 and $19,000, of which between $13,000 and $16,000 are expected to be cash expenditures. The total expected costs include employee separation costs of between $6,500 and $7,500, capital expenditures of between $3,500 and $4,500 and non-cash expenses for accelerated depreciation and impairment of fixed assets of approximately $3,000. The Company also expects to incur other transition costs including recruiting, relocation, and machinery and equipment move and set up costs of between $3,000 and $4,000. The actions under this plan are expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2021. The actual timing, costs and savings of the plan may differ materially from the Company’s current expectations and estimates.

As part of the Company’s continued efforts to optimize its cost structure, the Company has undertaken several discrete restructuring actions. During the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company recognized $5,382, $2,942 and $6,598 of employee separation costs, respectively, and $234, $1,360 and $2,869 of other related costs, respectively. These restructuring expenses were primarily associated with restructuring actions focused on optimizing our manufacturing and engineering footprint and the reduction of global overhead costs.

In June 2018, Gentherm completed the sale of its battery management systems division located in Irvine, California. A loss on the sale of $1,107 was recognized in restructuring expenses during the year ended December 31, 2018. An additional asset impairment loss of $425 was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2019.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, Gentherm recognized employee separation costs of $1,094, and $643 of other related costs associated with the closure of two leased facilities located in Azusa, California. The Company also recognized $1,400 in restructuring expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 for the disposal of long-lived assets controlled and used in Azusa, California.

The Company has recorded approximately $4,669 of restructuring expenses since inception of this program and it is considered complete.

During 2018, Gentherm launched a program to actively market GPT and CSZ-IC. Costs associated with the divestiture process were classified as restructuring. During the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company recognized $251 and $757 of employee separation costs, respectively, and $991 and $304 of other related costs, respectively.

The Company has recorded approximately $2,303 of restructuring expenses since inception of this program and it is considered complete.

Restructuring expense by reporting segment for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 was as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Automotive	$	5,075	$	9,353	$	5,548
Medical		112		1,838		5,607
Corporate		616		1,728		3,617
Total	$	5,803	$	12,919	$	14,772

The following table summarizes restructuring activity for all restructuring initiatives for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:

	Employee Separation Costs			Accelerated Depreciation and Asset Impairment Charges			Other Related Costs			Total
Balance at December 31, 2018	$	2,079		$	—		$	468		$	2,547
Additions, charged to restructuring expenses		8,056			2,512			2,351			12,919
Cash payments		(4,118	)		—			(2,636	)		(6,754	)
Non-cash utilization		—			(2,512	)		—			(2,512	)
Reclassification to lease liability		—			—			(112	)		(112	)
Currency translation		(23	)		—			—			(23	)
Balance at December 31, 2019		5,994			—			71			6,065
Additions, charged to restructuring expenses		6,932			687			584			8,203
Change in estimate		(2,382	)		—			(18	)		(2,400	)
Cash payments		(5,052	)		—			(757	)		(5,809	)
Non-cash utilization		—			(687	)		—			(687	)
Currency translation		135			—			120			255
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	5,627		$	—		$	—		$	5,627