Employee Retirement and Pension Benefits

6 Months Ended

Jun. 27, 2020

Retirement Benefits [Abstract]

Employee Retirement and Pension Benefits

Employee Retirement and Pension Benefits

U.S. Defined Benefit Pension Plan – Certain U.S. hourly employees participate in our defined benefit pension plan. The plan is not open to new employees. Pension expense, as recorded in the accompanying unaudited consolidated statements of operations, is determined by using spot rate assumptions made on January 1 of each year as summarized below:

	Three Months Ended						Six Months Ended
(amounts in thousands)	June 27, 2020			June 29, 2019			June 27, 2020			June 29, 2019
Components of pension benefit expense - U.S. benefit plan:
Administrative cost	$	300		$	1,250		$	1,550		$	2,500
Interest cost	2,375			3,725			6,100			7,450
Expected return on plan assets	(6,300		)	(4,650		)	(10,950		)	(9,300		)
Amortization of net actuarial pension loss	1,225			2,225			3,450			4,450
Pension benefit expense	$	(2,400	)	$	2,550		$	150		$	5,100

During the six months ended June 27, 2020, we made required contributions to our U.S. defined benefit pension plan or “Plan”, of $1.6 million. During the three and six months ended June 29, 2019, we made required contributions to the Plan of $1.6 million and $3.0 million, respectively. We did not make any voluntary contributions during any of the periods described above. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) was enacted. In conjunction with the CARES Act, companies were provided relief for defined benefit pension plans, which allows us to defer the remaining $2.8 million of minimum contributions until December 31, 2020.

During the three months ended June 27, 2020, we elected to utilize the alternative method when calculating the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation premiums for 2020 and the succeeding 4 years, rather than the standard method utilized during the previous 5 years, resulting in a reduction to pension benefit expenses in the period.