Impairment

go someone please explain the basics of taking a impairment charge on a depreciable asset?

I think of impairment as a bad thing. lets say you had some machinary, and suddenly, it breaks and you impair it.

Why does this increase net income? Just because you are not taking out depreciation anymore? Am i just not thinking about the big picture and other financial statements?

It decreases net income in the year of the impairment, but increases it in subsequent years because there’s less depreciation in future years.