Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has restarted manufacturing at its Wolverhampton engine plant, making a key step in recovering from its major cyberattack that forced the British automaker to halt production for over a month.
The car giant confirmed it had begun a “controlled, phased restart of operations” following the attack, which hit its IT systems on 31 August and disrupted production across its factories in Halewood and Merseyside, Solihull in the West Midlands, and Wolverhampton.
The restart comes after JLR extended its production pause until at least 1 October, while engineers worked to secure its systems and restore operations.
Financial impact and supplier strain
The shutdown has been estimated to have cost the company around £120m, with the manufacturer typically building about 1,000 cars a day.
The pause also caused significant disruption for suppliers across JLR’s vast supply chain, which employs around 100,000 people in addition to the 30,000 who work directly for the firm.
The government last week announced a £1.5bn loan guarantee to support the company and give suppliers greater certainty over payments, amid growing concerns that some smaller firms could collapse without assistance.
The loan, provided by a commercial bank, will bolster JLR’s cash reserves as it continues to pay suppliers affected by the shutdown.
Downing Street described the incident as a “concerning time for workers at Jaguar Land Rover and of course, across the supply chain”, adding that ministers had been in daily contact with the company since the attack.
Supplies remain in limbo
Despite signs of progress at JLR, many suppliers say they remain in a precarious position.
Michael Beese, managing director at Walsall-based Genex UK, which produces metal components for JLR, said his 17-person team had been temporarily laid off without pay while production was halted.
“There was only a finite element of cash available while production was stopped”, Beese told the BBC. “For the staff, it’s very concerning, worrying, stressful – and I think I’m sharing those same feelings as well”.
He added that commercial lending rates had made it difficult to keep the business afloat, with one loan offer carrying 16 per cent interest and requiring a 100 per cent personal guarantee.
“I’ve got a good business and a good group of staff with me that are all very capable – I really don’t want to lose it”, he said, welcoming the government’s loan guarantee but questioning how quickly the support would reach small firms.
Beese said he was hopeful that the Wolverhampton restart would soon be followed by production at other sites. “We do a myriad of parts across a number of their sites, so any site that opens is fantastic news”, he added.
