AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORP /DE/ 10-Q

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS   Other than the following, there have been no material changes to the risk factors described in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on June 2, 2021.   Our success is dependent upon attracting and retaining qualified personnel and our inability to do so could significantly damage our business and prospects.   We have attracted a highly skilled management team and specialized workforce, including scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturing, personnel, and marketing and sales professionals. Hiring and retaining good personnel for our business is challenging, and highly qualified technical personnel are likely to remain a limited resource for the foreseeable future. We may not be able to hire the necessary personnel to implement our business strategy. In addition, we may need to provide higher compensation or more training to our personnel than we currently anticipate. Moreover, any officer or employee can terminate his or her relationship with us at any time. Losing the services of any of our executive officers or key employees could materially and adversely impact our business.   On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order requiring all employers with U.S. federal government contracts to ensure that their U.S.-based employees, contractors, and subcontractors, that work on or in support of U.S. federal government contracts, are fully vaccinated by December 2021. The executive order only permits limited exceptions for medical and religious reasons. As a U.S. federal government contractor, we are requiring all U.S. based employees at sites that service or support our U.S. federal government contracts to be fully vaccinated. Additional vaccine mandates may be announced in jurisdictions in which our businesses operate. Our implementation of these requirements may result in attrition, including attrition of key personnel and skilled labor, and difficulty securing future labor needs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.