JLR begins phased restart of production after crippling cyber attack

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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is set to resume a limited amount of manufacturing this week, bringing some hope to a UK supply chain crippled by the company’s major cyber attack.

The luxury carmaker confirmed it would begin a “controlled, phased restart of our operations,” with the initial work commencing at its Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

This facility, which builds the Ingenium family of engines, will be the first of the company’s three main UK sites to return to activity. Its other car assembly plants in Solihull and Halewood, along with global factories in Slovakia, China, and India, are expected to follow gradually over the coming weeks.

The restart marks the first significant step towards recovery after JLR was forced to shut down its global IT systems following a cyber-attack in late August.

This defensive measure, while limiting the attack’s spread, paralysed nearly every aspect of the business, stopping the production of an estimated 1,000 cars a day and accumulating lost revenue believed to be at least £50 million a week.

However, the return to work is being treated with caution by both the company and its network of suppliers. JLR experts have warned that restarting complex industrial production is not like “flicking a switch” and will take time to get back to full capacity.

The production halt has had a devastating effect on JLR’s extensive supply chain, which employs around 200,000 people. Small and medium-sized firms have faced a dramatic cash shortage, with some, like Genex UK, being forced to lay off staff temporarily.

Last week, the government announced it would underwrite a £1.5 billion loan guarantee to JLR, aimed at bolstering the carmaker’s cash reserves to ensure payments to its distressed suppliers.

Despite this intervention, some industry figures remain sceptical, with Evtec Group chairman David Roberts telling the BBC that the support is a “toothless solution” that fails to assist smaller companies with immediate labour and payroll costs.

The full recovery is expected to be a prolonged process, with some experts warning the impact on the supply chain could last for months.

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