By James Cartledge
Copyright birminghammail
Disruption sparked by a cyber attack at Midland car giant Jaguar Land Rover could last until November, it was reported today. The breach, which took place over a fortnight ago, forced JLR to shut down its IT systems and brought production to a complete halt. A criminal probe is ongoing. JLR rejected suggestions the issues caused by the hack could last for months as mere “speculation”, the BBC reported . But it confirmed the pause in production would be extended until Wednesday, September 24. READ MORE: Man guilty of snatching and sexually abusing girl, 5, told fate is ‘inevitable’ There were fears some firms in the company’s supply chain could go bust without immediate financial assistance. The halt was thought to be costing the business at least £50m-a-week in lost production. JLR would typically make more 1,000 vehicles daily. The company, which belongs to India’s Tata Motors, has bases in Solihull and Halewood on Merseyside, with an engine plant in Wolverhampton. Manufacturing lines have not run since September 1. In its most recent statement, JLR said : “We have taken this decision as our forensic investigation of the cyber incident continues and as we consider the different stages of the controlled restart of our global operations, which will take time. “We are very sorry for the continued disruption this incident is causing and we will continue to update as the investigation progresses.” The firm has acknowledged some data may have been accessed or taken by third parties following the cyber attack. On the supply chain issues, Jason Richards, West Midlands regional officer at Unite the union, told the BBC : “We’re already seeing employers having discussions on potential redundancies. People have to pay rent, they have to pay mortgages and if they’re not getting any pay, what are they supposed to do?”. “We need to have a supply chain into Jaguar Land Rover . I can’t emphasise it enough [because] if they turn the tap on and they’re expecting the supply chain to be waiting on the subs bench, they won’t be there,” he added. With hundreds of thousands employed in the sector, experts warn of potential long-term harm to Britain’s engineering foundation. Unite has demanded the establishment of a furlough programme, using taxpayer funds to support wages for workers unable to operate due to the shutdown.
