RESTRUCTURING AND FACILITIES CONSOLIDATION INITIATIVES

The Company recorded restructuring and related expense aggregating $2.1 million and $4.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Restructuring and related expense includes both restructuring expense (primarily severance and related costs), estimated future variable lease costs for vacated properties with no intent or ability of sublease, and accelerated rent amortization expense.

For restructuring events that involve lease assets and liabilities, the Company applies lease reassessment and modification guidance and evaluates the right-of-use assets for potential impairment. If the Company plans to exit all or distinct portions of a facility and does not have the ability or intent to sublease, the Company will accelerate the amortization of each of those lease components through the vacate date. The accelerated amortization is recorded as a component of Restructuring and related expense in the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations. Related variable lease expenses will continue to be expensed as incurred through the vacate date, at which time the Company will reassess the liability balance to ensure it appropriately reflects the remaining liability associated with the premises and record a liability for the estimated future variable lease costs.

The components of Restructuring and related expense for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 were as follows (in thousands):



	Three months ended
	March 31, 2020		March 31, 2019
Severance and related costs	$	1,771	$	4,919
Variable and other facilities-related costs	234		13
Accelerated amortization of lease assets due to cease-use	70		—
	$	2,075	$	4,932

ECI Executive Severance

In connection with the ECI Merger, the Company is releasing three former executives of ECI and recorded $1.1 million of restructuring and related expense for severance for these individuals in accordance with their respective employment and related agreements in the three months ended March 31, 2020. At March 31, 2020, these amounts had not yet been paid. The Company expects these amounts will be paid by the end of 2020.

2019 Restructuring and Facilities Consolidation Initiative

In June 2019, the Company implemented a restructuring plan to further streamline the Company's global footprint, improve its operations and enhance its customer delivery (the "2019 Restructuring Initiative"). The 2019 Restructuring Initiative includes facility consolidations, refinement of the Company's research and development activities, and a reduction in workforce. In connection with this initiative, the Company expects to reduce its focus on hardware and appliance-based development over time and to increase its development focus on software virtualization, functional simplicity and important customer requirements. The facility consolidations under the 2019 Restructuring Initiative (the "Facilities Initiative") include a consolidation of the Company's North Texas sites into a single campus, housing engineering, customer training and support, and administrative functions, as well as a reduction or elimination of certain excess and duplicative facilities worldwide. In addition, the Company intends to substantially consolidate its global software laboratories and server farms into two lower cost North American sites. The Company continues to evaluate its properties included in the Facilities Initiative for accelerated amortization and/or right-of-use asset impairment. The Company expects that the actions under the Facilities Initiative will be completed by the end of 2020.

In connection with the 2019 Restructuring Initiative, the Company recorded restructuring expense and related expense of $1.0 million in the three months ended March 31, 2020, comprised of $0.7 million for severance and related costs for five employees and $0.3 million related to facilities. The Company expects that it will record nominal additional Restructuring and related expense related to severance and related costs under the 2019 Restructuring Initiative. A summary of the 2019 Restructuring Initiative accrual activity for severance and related costs for the three months ended March 31, 2020 is as follows (in thousands):



	Balance at January 1, 2020		Initiatives charged to expense		Reclassify accelerated amortization to operating lease liabilities			Cash payments			Balance at March 31, 2020
Severance	$	2,110	$	655	$	—		$	(1,253	)	$	1,512
Facilities	991		304		(70		)	(272		)	953
	$	3,101	$	959	$	(70	)	$	(1,525	)	$	2,465

Accelerated rent amortization is recognized from the date that the Company commences the plan to fully or partially vacate a facility, for which there is no intent or ability to enter into a sublease, through the final vacate date. The accelerated rent amortization recorded in connection with the Facilities Initiative reduced the value of the Company's Operating lease right-of-use assets recorded in the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheets at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. The liability for the total lease payments for each respective facility is included as a component of Operating lease liabilities in the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheets, both current and noncurrent (see Note 17). The Company may incur additional future expense if it is unable to sublease other locations included in the Facilities Initiative.

GENBAND Merger Restructuring Initiative

In connection with the merger in 2017 between Sonus Networks, Inc. and GENBAND (the "GENBAND Merger"), the Company implemented a restructuring plan in the fourth quarter of 2017 to eliminate certain redundant positions and facilities within the combined companies (the "GENBAND Merger Restructuring Initiative"). In connection with this initiative, the Company recorded $4.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2019, virtually all of which was for severance and related costs for approximately 40 employees. The GENBAND Merger Restructuring Initiative is substantially complete, and the Company anticipates that it will record nominal future expense, if any, in connection with this initiative, with amounts accrued at March 31, 2020 to be paid by the end of 2020.

A summary of the GENBAND Merger Restructuring Initiative accrual activity for the three months ended March 31, 2020 is as follows (in thousands):



	Balance at January 1, 2020		Cash payments			Balance at March 31, 2020
Severance	$	409	$	(351	)	$	58

Balance Sheet Classification

The current portions of accrued restructuring are included as a component of Accrued expenses and the long-term portions of accrued restructuring are included as a component of Other long-term liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The long-term portions of accrued restructuring totaled $0.9 million at both March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019.