Factories remain offline
Jaguar Land Rover will keep its UK plants closed until at least Wednesday. The company continues to deal with disruption from a cyber attack that began over a week ago.
Production has stopped at Halewood, Solihull and Wolverhampton. Facilities in Slovakia, China and India are also offline. Assembly line workers have been told to stay home.
On 31 August the company shut down its IT systems to prevent further damage. That move caused major operational disruption.
Teams work to restore networks
Jaguar Land Rover says staff are working around the clock to safely bring systems back online. Cybersecurity experts and law enforcement are assisting the process.
Last Thursday the company extended its work-from-home order until at least Tuesday while recovery efforts continued.
The automaker, owned by India’s Tata Motors, has not addressed reports suggesting the shutdown could last weeks.
Supply chain under strain
Jaguar Land Rover usually produces about 1,000 vehicles daily. The halt has put heavy pressure on suppliers. Some have already told employees not to report for work.
Dealerships and garages were also affected. Dealers could not register new cars, and garages could not order parts. Temporary solutions have since eased some of the disruption.
The timing added to the impact. New licence plates were released in early September, a key period for customer deliveries.
Supplier concerns rise
Shaun Adams, managing director of the parts supplier Qualplast, warned that a prolonged shutdown would be damaging. He said if the stoppage lasts weeks, his firm must rethink its future plans.
Hackers claim responsibility
A young hacker group has claimed the attack. They previously targeted other UK businesses, including a major retailer.
The group boasted about the breach on Telegram within days. Experts believe they accessed sensitive company data.
Investigators suspect the motive was extortion. Jaguar Land Rover confirmed it is aware of the claims and continues to investigate.
