Severance and Other Charges (Credits), net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]

Severance and Other Charges (Credits), net

We recognize severance and other charges for costs associated with workforce reductions, facility closures, exiting or reducing our footprint in certain countries, inventory and other asset impairments and the retirement of excess machinery and equipment based on economic utility. As a result of the downturn in the industry and its impact on our business outlook, we continue to take actions to adjust our operations and cost structure to reflect current and expected activity levels. Depending on future market conditions, further actions may be necessary to adjust our operations, which may result in additional charges.

Our severance and other charges (credits), net are summarized below (in thousands):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Severance and other costs	$	12,284	$	9,744	$	4,552

Fixed asset impairments and retirements	15,664		32,916		—
Inventory impairments	367		4,471		—
Intangible asset impairments	4,708		3,299		—
Accounts receivable write-off (recovery)	—		—		(4,862)
	$	33,023	$	50,430	$	(310)

Severance and other costs: We incurred costs due to a continued effort to adjust our cost base, including reducing our workforce to meet the depressed demand in the industry. At December 31, 2020, our outstanding liability associated with our current program was approximately $2.7 million and included severance payments and other employee-related separation costs. In addition, we also incurred costs associated with strategic initiatives to investigate opportunities for long-term shareholder growth.

Below is a reconciliation of our employee separation liability balance (in thousands):


	Tubular Running Services		Tubulars		Cementing Equipment		Corporate		Total
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	2,000	$	19	$	1,632	$	2,186	$	5,837
Additions for costs expensed	6,621		553		1,152		3,958		12,284
Severance and other payments	(7,781)		(175)		(1,827)		(4,448)		(14,231)
Other adjustments	(586)		—		(21)		(617)		(1,224)
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	254	$	397	$	936	$	1,079	$	2,666

Fixed asset impairments and retirements: During the year ended December 31, 2019, we undertook a comprehensive business review in conjunction with a sharp decline in U.S. land activity. Through this review, we identified certain fixed assets, primarily construction in progress, that were not commercially viable given current market conditions. This resulted in an impairment charge of $32.9 million. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recorded fixed asset impairment charges of $15.7 million primarily associated with construction in progress in our Cementing Equipment segment. Please see Note 5—Property, Plant and Equipment for additional details.

Inventory impairments: During the year ended December 31, 2019, certain inventories in our Tubular Running Services, Cementing Equipment and Tubulars segments were determined to have costs that exceeded their net realizable values, resulting in a charge of $4.5 million. During the year ended December 31, 2020, certain inventories in our Cementing Equipment segment were determined to have costs that exceeded their net realizable values, resulting in a charge of $0.4 million.

Intangible asset impairments: During the year ended December 31, 2019, we identified certain intangible assets that no longer had commercial viability to the Company, resulting in an impairment charge of $3.3 million. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we identified certain intangible assets where the carrying value exceeded the fair value in the Cementing Equipment segment, resulting in an impairment charge of $4.7 million. Please see Note 1—Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies in these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional details.

Accounts receivable write-off (recovery): We have experienced payment delays from certain customers in Angola. In 2018, we recovered $4.9 million of previously written off receivables from a customer in Angola.