Factories remain offline
Jaguar Land Rover will keep its UK plants closed until at least Wednesday. The company is still battling the impact of a cyber attack that struck more than a week ago.
Production at Halewood, Solihull and Wolverhampton remains suspended. Operations in Slovakia, China and India are also affected. Assembly workers have been told to stay home.
On 31 August the automaker shut down its IT systems to protect them. That step caused major disruption across operations.
Race to restore networks
Jaguar Land Rover says teams are working continuously to bring systems back online safely. External cybersecurity experts and police are assisting in the process.
Last Thursday the company extended its work-from-home order until at least Tuesday as recovery efforts continued.
The carmaker, owned by India’s Tata Motors, has not confirmed speculation that the crisis could last weeks.
Suppliers struggle with shutdown
Jaguar Land Rover normally builds about 1,000 vehicles each day. The halt has left suppliers under pressure. Some have already told staff not to work.
The cyber attack also disrupted dealerships and workshops. Dealers could not register new cars, and garages could not order parts. Temporary fixes have now been put in place.
The timing has worsened the impact. September’s release of new licence plates is normally a peak moment for customer deliveries.
Supplier warnings grow louder
Shaun Adams, head of the parts supplier Qualplast, said a prolonged shutdown would be damaging. He warned that if it stretches into weeks, his firm would need to reconsider its plans.
Hacker group claims responsibility
A young hacker group has claimed the breach. The same group has carried out earlier attacks on UK businesses, including a major retailer.
They bragged about the strike on Telegram just days later. Experts believe they accessed sensitive company data.
Investigators suspect extortion was the motive. Jaguar Land Rover said it is aware of the claims and continues to investigate.
