Stalled Supply chain job fears and role of cybersecurity firm add to JLR's woes as it battles to restart

The first external signs of the chaos about to hit JLR, Britain's largest automotive employer, came on the quiet last Sunday of August.

- Jasper Jolly and Dan Milmo

Managers at a factory in Halewood, Merseyside, told industry contacts there might have been a hack - although it was not clear then just how bad the situation was.

That changed quickly the next day. JLR, the maker of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands, quickly shut down its systems after realising the severity of the attack.

Three weeks later, the carmaker is still incapacitated, unable to produce at any of its factories across the UK, Slovakia, Brazil and India.

The hack is likely to cost JLR hundreds of millions of pounds, and has caused turmoil across its sprawling supply chain - particularly in the West Midlands surrounding JLR's headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, and the Solihull factory where it makes its money-spinner Range Rovers.

With little hope of an imminent restart, the UK government is facing increasing calls for financial support from suppliers who fear going bust if the sudden revenue drought continues.

Department for Business and Trade officials are understood to be speaking to JLR on a daily basis, while the National Cyber Security Centre has been working with JLR since last Wednesday to provide support in relation to the incident.

Morale has unsurprisingly - been badly hit across the workforce. Factory workers have been told not to return until at least Wednesday, but several people close to the company believe the wait could be longer.

Managers have access to emails, but computer-aided design, engineering software and product life cycle software were down this week.

However, the company has put in workarounds to make payments and ship cars to customers, and has focused on keeping existing customers happy with a flow of spare parts.

Adrian Mardell, JLR's chief executive, had been planning a quiet period before stepping down after three years at the helm.