'We need JLR staff back'

SHOPS NEAR SOLIHULL PLANT SAYS THEY ARE STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE

- JASBIR AUTHI

As the JLR cyber attack crisis enters its fifth week, the carmaker and its suppliers are hurting - but other businesses near the factories are suffering too, as JASBIR AUTHI found out.

IT IS 10am on Thursday and the first sign something is amiss is empty parking spaces outside the Hobs Moat Road shops.

I am told drivers would usually struggle to park because the area is usually bustling with Jaguar Land Rover workers from the Solihull plant, just a five-minute drive away.

Since workers were sent home four weeks ago after the Indian-owned giant was crippled by a cyber attack, the parade has seen a huge drop in footfall.

JLR employs 30,000 people in the UK, with 100,000 in the supply chain and around 60,000 relying on the spending power of the workers.