Special Charges and Other, Net

The following table summarizes activity included in the "special charges and other, net" caption on the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations (amounts in thousands):



	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2017		2016		2017			2016
Restructuring
Employee separation costs	$	301	$	9,205	$	1,387		$	28,821
Gain on sale of assets	—		—		(4,447		)	—
Impairment charges	—		—		100			1,961
Contract exit costs	19,568		302		20,154			340
Other	3		36		(78		)	456
Total	$	19,872	$	9,543	$	17,116		$	31,578

The Company continuously evaluates its existing operations in an attempt to identify and realize cost savings opportunities and operational efficiencies. This same approach is applied to businesses that are acquired by the Company and often the operating models of acquired companies are not as efficient as the Company's operating model which enables the Company to realize significant savings and efficiencies. As a result, following an acquisition, the Company will from time to time incur restructuring expenses; however, the Company is often not able to estimate the timing or amount of such costs in advance of the period in which they occur. The primary reason for this is that the Company regularly reviews and evaluates each position, contract and expense against the Company's strategic objectives, long-term operating targets and other operational priorities. Decisions related to restructuring activities are made on a "rolling basis" during the course of the integration of an acquisition whereby department managers, executives and other leaders work together to evaluate each of these expenses and make recommendations. As a result of this approach, at the time of an acquisition, the Company is not able to estimate the total amount of expected employee separation or exit costs that it will incur in connection with its restructuring activities.

The Company's restructuring expenses during fiscal 2017 were related to the Company's recent business combinations, including the acquisitions of Atmel and Micrel, and resulted from workforce, property and other operating expense rationalizations as well as combining product roadmaps and manufacturing operations. These expenses were for employee separation costs, contract exit costs, other operating expenses and intangible asset impairment losses. At March 31, 2017, these activities were substantially complete; however, the Company may continue to incur additional costs in the future as additional synergies or operational efficiencies are identified. The Company is not able to estimate the amount of such future expenses, if any, at this time.

All of the Company's restructuring activities occurred in its semiconductor products segment. The Company incurred $52.5 million in costs since the start of fiscal 2015 in connection with employee separation activities, of which $0.3 million and $1.4 million was incurred during the three and six months ended September 30, 2017, respectively, and $9.2 million and $28.8 million was incurred during the during the three and six months ended September 30, 2016, respectively. These employee separation activities are now substantially complete and any future amounts are not expected to be material. The Company has incurred $64.9 million in costs in connection with contract exit activities since the start of fiscal 2015 of which $19.6 million and $20.2 million was incurred during the three and six months ended September 30, 2017, respectively, and $0.3 million was incurred for each of the three and six months ended September 30, 2016. These acquisition-related contract exit activities are now substantially complete and any future amounts are not expected to be material.

In the three months ended September 30, 2017, the Company recognized a $19.5 million charge for fees associated with transitioning from the public utility provider in Oregon to a lower cost direct access provider. The fee will be paid monthly starting in calendar year 2018 and will depend on the amount of actual energy consumed by the Company's wafer fabrication facility in Oregon over the next five years. In connection with the transition to a direct access provider, the Company signed a ten-year supply agreement to purchase monthly amounts of energy that are less than the current average usage and priced on a per mega watt hour published index rate in effect at those future dates.

In the three months ended June 30, 2017, the Company completed the sale of an asset it acquired as part of its acquisition of Micrel for proceeds of $10.0 million and the gain of $4.4 million is included in the gain on sale of assets in the above table. As of March 31, 2017, these assets consisting of property, plant and equipment were presented as held for sale in the Company's consolidated financial statements.

The impairment losses in the six months ended September 30, 2016 were recognized as a result of changes in the combined product roadmaps after the acquisition of Atmel that affected the use and life of these assets. The following is a rollforward of accrued restructuring charges from April 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017 (amounts in thousands):



	Employee Separation Costs			Exit Costs			Total
Balance at April 1, 2017 - Restructuring Accrual	$	5,474		$	34,751		$	40,225
Charges	1,387			20,154			21,541
Payments	(4,403		)	(5,037		)	(9,440		)
Non-cash - Other	(287		)	300			13
Foreign exchange gains	258			—			258
Balance at September 30, 2017 - Restructuring Accrual	$	2,429		$	50,168		$	52,597
Current							$	13,605
Non-current							38,992
							$	52,597

The restructuring liability of $52.6 million is included in accrued liabilities and other long-term liabilities on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2017.