The Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) cyberattack that has shuttered production at the UK automaker’s factories since September 1 is threatening to become a national crisis, with more than 200,000 workers potentially affected.
Amid calls for government help, officials from the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) attended an “extraordinary meeting” of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Automotive Components Section on September 19 to discuss the looming crisis from the JLR cyberattack.
“This allowed us to listen to suppliers directly and understand the challenges and concerns they are facing,” the DBT said in a statement, adding that government officials and cyber experts “are in contact with the company to support the task of restoring production operations, and are working closely with JLR to understand any impacts on the supply chain.”
JLR Cyberattack Could Affect More Than 230,000 Workers
JLR directly employs around 33,000 people, with another 200,000 employed in the company’s supply chain.
Some JLR suppliers have already been forced to halt operations and have begun to lay off workers, and they warn the crisis will only get worse. The BBC reported last week that one unnamed supplier had already laid off nearly half its workforce.
JLR hopes to restart operations by September 24, but a union leader told the BBC that he believes there is “zero chance” of production restarting next week.
“I don’t want to be pessimistic, and I don’t want to sensationalize this, but I really am concerned about the issue we find ourselves in,” said Jason Richards, Unite’s regional officer for the West Midlands.
Members of Parliament Ask Government for JLR Supply Chain Help
More than 30 Members of Parliament (MPs) asked the government for help for JLR suppliers in a September 17 letter to Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle.
“Many of us are in close contact with large businesses and SMEs in our constituencies who supply JLR or are part of JLR’s wider supply chain,” the MPs wrote. “It is clear that for some of these businesses, the cash flow situation is becoming serious. If this shutdown is prolonged, the predominantly UK-based supply chain will no longer exist, as companies will shutter and will lay off skilled staff who are hard to replace.”
The MPs called on the company to help support its supply chain, but they added that “if the shutdown lasts for a prolonged period, ministers should consider the support that the UK Government can give to the JLR supply chain directly.”
The shutdown is costing JLR at least £50m a week in lost production, and the company typically builds more than 1,000 cars a day. JLR, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, also has factories in Slovakia, China and India.
The JLR cyberattack has been attributed to the Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters threat group, which claimed to cease operations after the attack. The nature of the attack hasn’t been specified, but there has been some speculation that ransomware was involved.
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