Restructuring and Related Charges

6 Months Ended

Mar. 28, 2020

Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]

RESTRUCTURING AND RELATED CHARGES

In the first quarter of fiscal 2020, the Company approved a restructuring program (the "2020 Program"), which is expected to contribute to the Company’s overall strategy of financial fitness through the elimination of overhead and consolidation of certain enterprise functions. We have recognized $39 million of cumulative pretax charges associated with the 2020 Program consisting of severance and employee related costs. As part of the 2020 Program, we estimate the elimination of approximately 500 positions across several areas and job levels, with most of the eliminated positions originating from the corporate offices in Springdale, Arkansas and Chicago, Illinois. We do not anticipate future costs of the 2020 Program to be significant.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, our Board of Directors approved a multi-year restructuring program (the “2017 Program”), which is expected to contribute to the Company’s overall strategy of financial fitness through increased operational effectiveness and overhead reduction. The 2017 Program is expected to result in cumulative pretax charges of approximately $280 million which consist primarily of severance and employee related costs, impairments and accelerated depreciation of technology assets, incremental costs to implement new technology, and contract termination costs. Through March 28, 2020, $263 million of the estimated $280 million total pretax charges has been recognized. The remaining estimated charges relate to incremental costs to implement new technology.

For the three months ended March 28, 2020, restructuring and related charges consisted of $5 million of technology related costs from the 2017 Program recorded in Selling, General and Administrative in our Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income, offset by a benefit of $5 million from the 2020 Program related to a reduction in estimated severance and employee related costs, of which $4 million was recorded in Cost of Sales and $1 million was recorded in Selling, General and Administrative in our Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income. We recognized restructuring and related charges of $52 million for the six months ended March 28, 2020, consisting of $39 million of severance and employee related costs from the 2020 Program and $13 million of technology related costs from the 2017 Program. For the six months ended March 28, 2020, we recorded $5 million in Cost of Sales from the 2020 Program, and we recorded $47 million in Selling, General and Administrative in our Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income, of which $34 million is related to the 2020 Program and $13 million is related to the 2017 Program.

We recognized $8 million and $16 million for the three and six months ended March 30, 2019, respectively, of restructuring and related charges from the 2017 Program which were recorded in Selling, General and Administrative in our Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income and represent incremental costs to implement new technology and accelerated depreciation of technology assets.

The following table reflects the pretax impact of restructuring and related charges incurred in the three and six months ended March 28, 2020, the charges to date and the total estimated charges, by reportable segment (in millions):



	Three Months Ended		Six Months Ended		Restructuring and related charges to date		Total estimated Restructuring and related charges
	March 28, 2020		March 28, 2020		March 28, 2020
Beef	$	—	$	5	$	18	$	18
Pork	—		2		7		7
Chicken	—		21		128		136
Prepared Foods	—		22		146		155
Other	—		2		3		3
Total restructuring and related charges, pretax	$	—	$	52	$	302	$	319

The total estimated restructuring charges include $17 million of estimated charges from the 2017 Program yet to be incurred and represent incremental costs to implement new technology in our Prepared Foods and Chicken segments. The timing and actual amounts of the estimated charges may change.

Our restructuring liability was $34 million at March 28, 2020 and we had no restructuring liability at September 28, 2019. The change in the restructuring liability was due to additional charges of $52 million, net of $18 million primarily consisting of payments, during the six months ended March 28, 2020.