Table:
|  |  | For The Years Ended March 31, |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
| Restructuring |  |  |  |
| Employee separation costs | $65.3 | $1.2 | $39.1 |
| Gain on sale of assets | — | (4.4) | — |
| Impairment charges | 3.6 | — | 12.6 |
| Contract exit costs | (4.7) | 0.7 | 44.1 |
| Other | (0.3) | — | 2.8 |
| Legal contingencies | (30.2) | — | — |
| Non-restructuring contract exit costs and other | — | 20.0 | — |
| Total | $33.7 | $17.5 | $98.6 |
Paragraphs:
Note 4. Special Charges and Other, Net
The following table summarizes activity included in the "special charges and other, net" caption on the Company's consolidated statements of income (in millions):
The Company continuously evaluates its existing operations in an attempt to identify and realize cost savings opportunities and operational efficiencies. This same approach is applied to businesses that are acquired by the Company and often the operating models of acquired companies are not as efficient as the Company's operating model which enables the Company to realize significant savings and efficiencies. As a result, following an acquisition, the Company will from time to time incur restructuring expenses; however, the Company is often not able to estimate the timing or amount of such costs in advance of the period in which they occur. The primary reason for this is that the Company regularly reviews and evaluates each position, contract and expense against the Company's strategic objectives, long-term operating targets and other operational priorities. Decisions related to restructuring activities are made on a "rolling basis" during the course of the integration of an acquisition whereby department managers, executives and other leaders work together to evaluate each of these expenses and make recommendations. As a result of this approach, at the time of an acquisition, the Company is not able to estimate the future amount of expected employee separation or exit costs that it will incur in connection with its restructuring activities.
The Company's restructuring expenses during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019 were related to the Company's most recent business acquisitions, and resulted from workforce, property and other operating expense rationalizations as well as combining product roadmaps and manufacturing operations. These expenses were for employee separation costs and intangible asset impairment charges. The impairment charges in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019 were primarily recognized as a result of writing off intangible assets purchased from Microsemi prior to the close of the acquisition and other intangible assets that were impaired as a result of changes in the combined product roadmaps after the acquisition that affected the use and life of the assets. Additional costs will be incurred in the future as additional synergies or operational efficiencies are identified in connection with the Microsemi transaction and other previous acquisitions. The Company is not able to estimate the amount of such future expenses at this time.
During fiscal 2018, the Company incurred expenses including non-restructuring contract exit costs of $19.5 million for fees associated with transitioning from the public utility provider in Oregon to a lower cost direct access provider. The fee is paid monthly and will depend on the amount of actual energy consumed by the Company's wafer fabrication facility in Oregon over the next five years. In connection with the transition to a direct access provider, the Company signed a ten-year supply agreement to purchase monthly amounts of energy that are less than the current average usage and priced on a per mega watt hour published index rate in effect at those future dates. Also during fiscal 2018, the Company incurred $1.2 million of employee separation costs in connection with the acquisition of Atmel.
The Company's restructuring expenses during fiscal 2017 were related to the Company's acquisitions of Atmel and Micrel, and resulted from workforce, property and other operating expense rationalizations as well as combining product roadmaps and manufacturing operations. These expenses were for employee separation costs, contract exit costs, other operating expenses and intangible asset impairment losses. The impairment charges in fiscal 2017 were recognized as a result of changes in the combined product roadmaps after the acquisition of Atmel that affected the use and life of these assets. At March 31, 2017, these activities were substantially complete.
All of the Company's restructuring activities occurred in its semiconductor products segment. The Company incurred $115.2 million in costs since the start of fiscal 2016 in connection with employee separation activities, of which $65.3 million, $1.2 million and $39.1 million was incurred during the fiscal years ended March 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The Company could incur future expenses as additional synergies or operational efficiencies are identified. The Company is not able to estimate future expenses, if any, to be incurred in employee separation costs. The Company has incurred $40.8 million in costs in connection with contract exit activities since the start of fiscal 2016 which includes $4.7 million of income incurred for the year ended March 31, 2019 and $0.7 million and $44.1 million of costs incurred for the years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The amounts recognized during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019 were primarily related to vacated lease liabilities. While the Company expects to incur further acquisition-related contract exit expenses, it is not able to estimate the amount at this time.
In the three months ended June 30, 2017, the Company completed the sale of an asset it acquired as part of its acquisition of Micrel for proceeds of $10.0 million and the gain of $4.4 million is included in the gain on sale of assets in the above table.
Question:
What was the change in Employee separation costs between 2017 and 2018?
Answer: 1.2-39.1 = -37.9