By Beverly Rademacher

Copyright expressandstar

The research conducted by the Black Country, Greater Birmingham and Coventry and Warwickshire Chambers of Commerce aimed to discover the real impact of the automotive giant’s shutdown in the region.

The survey of 84 businesses, representing more than 29,700 employees, found 77 per cent reported experiencing a negative impact as a result of the JLR cyber-attack, with 44 per cent identifying this as ‘significant’.

Nearly half (45 per cent) reported significant negative financial impact including loss of revenue, increased costs and customer payment slowdowns.

The research showed 79 per cent of participating firms were members of JLR’s supply chain, while 18 per cent were businesses not directly in the supply chain but still experiencing knock-on effects.

As businesses struggle to cope, 35 per cent have reduced staff hours or asked staff not to work temporarily, while 14 per cent are already making redundancies.

A further 17 per cent are seeking extra finance from banks to help tide their businesses over.

Sarah Moorhouse, chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Black Country’s automotive supply chain employs 13,000 people so the ripple effects of this cyber-attack are being felt right across our business community.

“What these initial survey results show is that this isn’t just about JLR – it’s about the suppliers, manufacturers and service providers that make the Black Country the powerhouse of UK automotive production.

“We’re speaking to our members and to local and national Government about the support which needs to be put in place. The survey showed that over half of the businesses who responded want to see a financial support package. It is telling that18 per cent of those companies are calling for specific protection from exposure under the Insolvency Act until the crisis ends.”

Raj Kandola, acting deputy CEO of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “The results from our snap poll make it eye wateringly clear the direct impact the JLR cyber security attack has had on businesses across the region with many citing a notable drop in revenue, spiralling costs and huge operational disruption.

“Whilst we recognise it’s a small sample window, the fact these businesses collectively employ almost 30,000 people across the West Midlands reinforces the need for the Government and its partners to act decisively and support firms that are facing enormous uncertainty right now.

“We will be sharing this vital data with key stakeholders regionally and nationally – including the West Midlands mayor, regional MPs and contacts in Westminster – to ensure the severity of the situation is fully reflected in any proposed policy programmes designed to mitigate the impact of the attack.

“These businesses have made it clear they need immediate financial support to get their operations back on track as time is of the essence.”

Today (Friday) the Conservative Party has said it would back a targeted emergency loan scheme for UK firms affected by the almost month long shutdown of JLR which has huge manufacturing bases alongside the M54 near Wolverhampton and Telford, as well as in Solihull.

On Thursday JLR said parts of its IT systems are back online amid a “phased restart” of its operations and it can now begin clearing a backlog of payments to suppliers but the production shutdown is expected to last until October 1 at the earliest after the company was targeted by hackers at the end of August.