By Harry Leach
Copyright birminghammail
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has welcomed an ‘extraordinary meeting’ which was held today in response to the recent cyber attack on the British manufacturer. The data hack attack at the start of this month damaged the automaker’s production and IT facilities. The cyber attack could lead to hundreds of job losses and has forced JLR factories – including the two in Wolverhampton and Solihull – to temporarily shut down. READ MORE: Man charged with attempted kidnap after ‘incident outside Birmingham school’ Companies linked to the car manufacturer are being stung by JLR’s pause on operations. Among them are Birmingham auto industry suppliers employing hundred of people in the city. In response to the cyber attack, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), held an ‘extraordinary meeting’ today. The SMMT said it was held to allow key players to listen directly to suppliers and understand the challenges and concerns they face. The joint statement read: “The recent cyber incident is having a significant impact on Jaguar Land Rover and on the wider automotive supply chain. “The government, including government 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. “On Friday, September, 19, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) held an extraordinary meeting of its Automotive Components Section, which was attended by Department for Business and Trade (DBT) officials. “This allowed us to listen to suppliers directly and understand the challenges and concerns they are facing.” JLR told BirminghamLive it ‘welcomed’ the meeting and said it was ‘working around the clock’ to restart operations. It said: “We welcome SMMT’s convening of its Automotive Components Section to allow suppliers to convey their views directly to the government. This is an important move to further identify the challenges businesses are facing following the recent cyber incident at JLR. “This action complements JLR’s wider response, including our focus on our global supply chain, our retail partners, our clients and our people as we continue to work around the clock to restart our global applications in a controlled and safe manner.” JLR previously confirmed that it would extend the current pause on production until Wednesday, September 24.
