We generally record costs associated with voluntary separations at the time of employee acceptance. We record costs associated with involuntary separation programs when management has approved the plan for separation, the affected employees are identified, and it is unlikely that actions required to complete the separation plan will change significantly. Costs associated with benefits that are contingent on the employee continuing to provide service are accrued over the required service period.

Employee separation actions and exit and disposal activities include employee separation costs, facility and other asset-related charges (e.g., impairment, accelerated depreciation), dealer and supplier payments, other statutory and contractual obligations, and other expenses, which are recorded in Cost of sales and Selling, administrative, and other expenses. Below are actions we have initiated:

In 2021, we ceased vehicle manufacturing in Sanand, India and exited manufacturing operations in Brazil. In 2022, we ceased manufacturing in Chennai, India and ceased production of the Mondeo in Valencia, Spain. We do not expect significant additional costs for these actions; however, the remaining cash outflows are expected to be finalized over several years.

In 2023, we announced our plan to phase-out production of the Focus at our Saarlouis Body and Assembly plant in Germany. We will cease production in 2025, and we plan to repurpose the facility into a technology center, retaining 1,000 positions.

In 2023 and 2024, we also announced separation programs for salaried workers, primarily in Europe, and expect these programs to be substantially complete by the end of 2027. In addition, in 2024, we offered voluntary separation packages to certain members of our hourly workforce in North America, and these programs are substantially complete.

The following table summarizes the activities for the periods ended March 31, which are recorded in Other liabilities and deferred revenue (in millions):


	First Quarter
	2024		2025
Beginning balance	$	1,086	$	1,098
Changes in accruals (a)	594		47
Payments	(188)		(178)
Foreign currency translation and other	(26)		32
Ending balance	$	1,466	$	999

We recorded costs of $608 million and $71 million in the first quarter of 2024 and 2025, respectively, related to the initiated actions above. We estimate that we will incur about $500 million in total charges in 2025 related to such actions, primarily attributable to employee separations; some charges are related to plans that are subject to negotiations with a works council, union, or other social partner. In addition, we continue to review our global businesses and may take additional restructuring actions where a path to sustained profitability is not feasible.