Impact from pension participation changes
The impact from pension participation changes represent the charges incurred when employee groups are withdrawn from multiemployer pension plans and other changes in employee group pension plan participation. The company excludes these charges from its non-GAAP results because those amounts do not reflect the company’s ongoing pension obligations.
On July 11, 2019, the company received an undiscounted withdrawal liability assessment related to the company’s complete
withdrawal from the Bakery and Confectionery Union and Industry International Pension Fund totaling $526 million and requiring pro-rata monthly payments over 20 years. The company began making monthly payments during the third quarter of 2019. Within selling, general and administrative expenses, the company recorded a $35 million ($26 million net of tax) adjustment in the three months ended June 30, 2019 related to the discounted withdrawal liability. The company recorded $2 million of accreted interest in the three months and $11 million in the year ended December 31, 2020 and an immaterial amount for the three months and year ended December 31, 2019 on the long-term liability within interest and other expense, net. As of December 31, 2020, the remaining discounted withdrawal liability was $376 million, with $14 million recorded in other current liabilities and $362 million recorded in long-term other liabilities.
CEO transition remuneration
On November 20, 2017, Dirk Van de Put succeeded Irene Rosenfeld as CEO of Mondelēz International. In order to incent Mr. Van de Put to join the company, the company provided him compensation to make him whole for incentive awards he forfeited or grants that were not made to him when he left his former employer. In connection with Irene Rosenfeld’s retirement, the company made her outstanding grants of performance share units for the 2016-2018 and 2017-2019 performance cycles eligible for continued vesting and paid $0.5 million salary for her service as Chairman from January through March 2018. The company refers to these elements of Mr. Van de Put’s and Ms. Rosenfeld’s compensation arrangements together as “CEO transition remuneration.”
The company is excluding amounts it expenses as CEO transition remuneration from its non-GAAP results because those amounts are not part of the company’s regular compensation program and are incremental to amounts the company would have incurred as ongoing CEO compensation. As a result, in 2017, the company excluded amounts expensed for the cash payment to Mr. Van de Put and partial vesting of his equity grants. In 2018, the company excluded amounts paid for Ms. Rosenfeld’s service as Chairman and partial vesting of Mr. Van de Put’s and Ms. Rosenfeld’s equity grants. In 2019, the company excluded amounts related to the partial vesting of Mr. Van de Put’s equity grants. During the first quarter of 2020, Mr. Van de Put’s equity grants became fully vested.
Losses on debt extinguishment
On October 16, 2020, the company completed a tender offer in cash and redeemed $950 million of long-term U.S. dollar-denominated notes. The company recorded a loss on debt extinguishment of approximately $154 million within interest and other expense, net related to the amount the company paid to retire the debt in excess of its carrying value and from recognizing unamortized discounts, deferred financing and unamortized forward starting swaps in earnings at the time of the debt extinguishment.
On December 4, 2020, the company completed an early redemption of $391 million of U.S. dollar denominated notes. The company recorded an extinguishment loss of $31 million within interest and other expense, net primarily related to the amount the company paid in excess of carrying value of the debt and from recognizing unamortized discounts and deferred financing in earnings at the time of the debt extinguishment.
Gains/losses related to interest rate swaps
Within interest and other expense, net, the company recognized losses related to forward-starting interest rate swaps of $79 million ($103 million pre-tax) for the year ended December 31, 2020 and $111 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 due to the changes in related forecasted debt.
U.S. tax reform discrete impacts
On December 22, 2017, new U.S. tax reform legislation was enacted that included a broad range of complex provisions impacting the taxation of businesses. In connection with implementing U.S. tax reform, the company recorded a discrete net tax expense of $5 million in 2019.
Swiss tax reform impacts
On August 6, 2019, Switzerland published changes to its Federal tax law in the Official Federal Collection of Laws. On September 27, 2019, the Zurich Canton published their decision on the September 1, 2019 Zurich Canton public vote regarding the Cantonal changes associated with the Swiss Federal tax law change. The intent of these tax law changes was to replace certain preferential tax regimes with a new set of internationally accepted measures that are hereafter referred to as “Swiss tax