Other charges were $40 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Costs primarily related to severance in the Engineering segment and expenses incurred due to the intercompany reorganization for the year ended December 31, 2023. Other charges for 2023 included an income tax benefit of $81 million primarily comprised of a benefit of $124 million related to the resolution of an income tax audit, partially offset by an accrual of $85 million for the potential settlement of an international income tax matter, both recorded in the first quarter.

Other charges were $1 billion ($896 million, after tax and noncontrolling interests) for the year ended December 31, 2022, largely attributable to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, multiple jurisdictions, including Europe and the U.S., have imposed several tranches of economic sanctions on Russia. As a result, Linde reassessed its ability to control its Russian subsidiaries and determined that as of June 30, 2022 it can no longer exercise control over these entities. As such, Linde deconsolidated its Russian gas and engineering business entities as of June 30, 2022. The deconsolidation of the company's Russian gas and engineering business entities resulted in a loss of $787 million ($730 million after tax).

The fair value of Linde’s Russian subsidiaries was determined using a probability weighted discounted cash flow model, which resulted in the recognition of a $407 million loss on deconsolidation when compared to the carrying value of the entities. This loss is recorded within Other charges in the consolidated statements of income.

Upon deconsolidation an investment was recorded, which represents the fair value of net assets. The company did not receive any consideration, cash or otherwise, as part of the deconsolidation. Linde will maintain its interest in its Russian subsidiaries and will continue to comply with sanctions and government restrictions. The investment will be monitored for impairment in future periods.

Receivables, primarily loans receivable, with newly deconsolidated entities were reassessed for collectability resulting in a write-off of approximately $380 million.

Other charges related specifically to the Russia-Ukraine conflict were $103 million ($73 million after tax) for the year ended December 31, 2022, and are primarily comprised of impairments of assets which are maintained by international entities in support of the Russian business.

Merger-related costs and other charges were $139 million ($93 million, after tax) for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily related to severance actions within the Engineering segment recorded during the fourth quarter, the impairment of an equity method investment in the EMEA segment, and the sale of the GIST business completed on September 30, 2022 (see Note 2).


	Year Ended December 31, 2022
(millions of dollars)	Russia deconsolidation charges		Other Russia related charges		Total Russia charges		Merger-related costs and other charges		Total
Americas	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	4	$	4
EMEA	733		(7)		726		25		751
APAC	—		—		—		28		28
Engineering	54		110		164		41		205
Other	—		—		—		41		41
Total	$	787	$	103	$	890	$	139	$	1,029

Total cost reduction program related charges were $338 million ($253 million after tax), for the year ended December 31, 2021. These expenses consisted primarily of severance charges of $259 million and other charges of $79 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Other charges related primarily to the execution of the company's synergistic actions including location consolidations and business rationalization projects, process harmonization, and associated non-recurring costs.

Merger-related and other charges were benefits of $65 million (benefit of $26 million, after tax) for the year ended December 31, 2021. The 2021 pre-tax benefit was primarily due to a $52 million gain triggered by a joint venture deconsolidation in the APAC segment.


	Year Ended December 31, 2021
(millions of dollars)	Severance costs		Other cost reduction charges		Total cost reduction program related charges		Merger related and other charges		Total
Americas	$	4	$	2	$	6	$	(6)	$	—
EMEA	204		33		237		1		238
APAC	16		12		28		(50)		(22)
Engineering	20		6		26		—		26
Other	15		26		41		(10)		31
Total	$	259	$	79	$	338	$	(65)	$	273

The total cash requirements of the other charges incurred for the year ended December 31, 2023 are expected to be immaterial. Remaining cash requirements are expected to be paid primarily through 2024. Other charges, net of payments in the consolidated statements of cash flows for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 also reflect the impact of cash payments of liabilities, including merger-related tax liabilities, accrued as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.


(millions of dollars)	Total Russia charges		Severance costs		Other cost reduction charges		Total cost reduction program related charges		Merger related and other charges		Total














Balance, December 31, 2021	$	—	$	384	$	38	$	422	$	31	$	453
2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict and other charges	890		41		24		65		74		1,029
Less: Cash payments	—		(122)		(24)		(146)		19		(127)
Less: Non-cash charges	(890)		—		(7)		(7)		(109)		(1,006)
Foreign currency translation and other	—		(22)		(4)		(26)		(3)		(29)
Balance, December 31, 2022	$	—	$	281	$	27	$	308	$	12	$	320
2023 Other Charges	—		26		—		26		14		40
Less: Cash payments	—		(134)		(1)		(135)		(23)		(158)
Less: Non-cash charges	—		—		—		—		12		12
Foreign currency translation and other	—		(1)		—		(1)		1		—
Balance, December 31, 2023	$	—	$	172	$	26	$	198	$	16	$	214

The pre-tax charges for each year are shown within operating profit in a separate line item on the consolidated statements of income. In the consolidated balance sheets, reductions in assets are recorded against the carrying value of the related assets and unpaid amounts are recorded as other current or long-term liabilities (see Note 7). On the consolidated statements of cash flows, the pre-tax impact of these charges, net of cash payments, is shown as an adjustment to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities. In Note 18 Segment Information, Linde excluded these charges from its management definition of segment operating profit; a reconciliation of segment operating profit to consolidated operating profit is shown within the segment operating profit table.