Call for action to save suppliers as JLR crisis deepens

Risk to jobs as cyber-attack shutdown extended

- TAMLYN JONES Business Correspondent

LUXURY carmaker JLR has extended its shutdown into next week following the cyber attack which has crippled production.

The manufacturer has told staff across its factories, suppliers and partners that the closure will continue until Wednesday September 24.

However industry insiders have told the BBC the firm could face disruption until November.

JLR, which is headquartered in Coventry, was forced to pause production at its UK plants across the West Midlands and on Merseyside and in Slovakia, Brazil, India and China following the cyber attack which shut down its systems on August 31.

Trade union Unite warned that thousands of workers in JLR’s supply chain were now at risk of losing their livelihoods and called on the Government to introduce a furlough scheme akin to what was seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Staff directly employed by JLR are not thought to be at risk of losing their jobs.

"The severity of the delays means the banked hours agreements that usually accompany supply chain manufacturing shutdowns are not adequate," Unite said in a statement.

General secretary Sharon Graham added: "The Government needs to defend jobs when our industries are under attack.