Tecumseh Products 2012 Annual Report Download - page 8

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Employees
On December 31, 2012, we employed approximately 5,800 full-time equivalent employees and an additional 1,900 temporary
employees and contractors worldwide, 91% of whom were employed in foreign locations. While none of our U.S. employees
were represented by labor unions, many of our foreign location personnel are represented by national trade unions. Over the
course of the past few years, we have focused on reducing our permanent global workforce and aligning our temporary
workforce as part of our overall efforts to restructure the business and improve our overall cost structure. We believe we
generally have a good relationship with our employees.
Available Information
We provide public access to our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and
amendments to these reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. These documents may be accessed free of charge through the Investor Relations section of our website
at the following address: http://www.tecumseh.com. These documents are provided as soon as reasonably practicable after filing
with, or furnishing to, the SEC. These documents may also be found at the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Set forth below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are descriptions of material risks and uncertainties that
could cause our actual business results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements contained in
this report. These risk factors should be considered in addition to our cautionary statements concerning forward-looking
statements in this report, including statements related to markets for our products and trends in our business, which involve a
number of risks and uncertainties. Our separate section in Item 7 below, “Cautionary Statements Relating To Forward-Looking
Statements,” should be considered in addition to the following statements.
Current and future global or regional economic conditions could have an adverse effect on our sales volumes, liquidity
and profitability.
Our sales volumes, liquidity and profitability depend significantly on worldwide economic conditions. Uncertainty about global
economic conditions poses a risk as consumers postpone spending in response to tighter credit, unemployment, negative
financial news and/or declines in income or asset values, and reduced purchases by customers of our products because of
uncertainty regarding purchases of their products by consumers and others. The global recession precipitated by the financial
crisis and subsequent weak and uncertain global economy, had a detrimental effect on our sales volumes over the last several
years, and a related detrimental effect on our liquidity and profitability. A number of factors, including, but not limited to, gross
domestic product, availability of consumer credit, interest rates, consumer confidence, unemployment levels, debt levels, retail
trends, housing starts, inventory levels, commodity costs and foreign currency exchange rates, generally affect demand for our
products. In the event of financial turmoil affecting the banking system and financial markets, including in Europe, additional
consolidation of the financial services industry, or significant financial service institution failures, there could be a new or
incremental tightening in the credit markets, low liquidity, and extreme volatility in fixed income, credit, currency, and equity
markets. This could have a number of effects on our business, including the inability of end customers to obtain credit to
finance purchases of products containing our products, and failure of derivative counterparties and other financial institutions. A
further decline in economic activity and conditions, or continued volatility in global economic conditions in the U.S., Brazil,
Europe, Asia and the other markets in which we operate could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations,
including our sales volumes, liquidity and profitability.
Regional economic conditions can also have an adverse effect on our sales volumes, with a resulting adverse impact on our
liquidity and profitability. For example, lower commodities and labor costs in China during 2012 compared to other regions
coupled with a general strengthening and volatility of the Brazilian Real over the past several years (although it weakened
overall in 2011 and 2012) have allowed manufacturers located in China to charge less for their products and gain market share
in India and Brazil, despite trade barriers in those countries. The general strengthening and volatility of the Brazilian Real over
the past several years (although it weakened overall in 2011 and 2012) generally makes our exported products more expensive
than those of our competitors that do not manufacture in Brazil. The U.S. market for R&F products is already saturated, and the
Brazilian market is expected to become saturated in less than three years. All of these conditions could adversely affect our
financial condition and results of operations, including our sales volumes, liquidity and profitability.