Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced the partial resumption of car production in the coming days, following a cyber-attack that forced the closure of its manufacturing plants. Hackers were able to breach the company's IT security systems at the end of August, forcing the car manufacturer to suspend operations at its three UK facilities.
Jaguar originally said it would resume production at its Merseyside and West Midlands plants by October 1 at the earliest. In a new statement issued to its website, JLR said: "As the controlled, phased restart of our operations continues, we are taking further steps towards our recovery and the return to manufacture of our world‑class vehicles. Today we are informing colleagues, retailers and suppliers that some sections of our manufacturing operations will resume in the coming days.
"We continue to work around the clock alongside cybersecurity specialists, the UK Government’s NCSC and law enforcement to ensure our restart is done in a safe and secure manner."
Industry insiders believe the car manufacturer will prioritise re-opening its Wolverhampton engine plant. It is likely, though, to be several weeks before operations are running at full capacity again.
JLR employs around 30,000 people at the company's UK plants in Solihull, Wolverhampton and Halewood. Another 1,000 or so work for firms that help supply the plants with component parts.
The supply chain companies have faced huge financial pressures since the enforced close-downs.
One supplier told the BBC that companies would need financial assistance to weather the storm.
The UK government announced over the weekend loan guarantees worth £1.5bn for JLR, insisting that some of that money should go to provide relief for supply chain firms.
Several major UK brands have been targeted by hackers this year, leading to severe financial losses.
Marks & Spencer was targeted by a crippling cyber-attack earlier this year and said not will take an estimated £300 million hit to profits. The Co-op was also attacked in April and has since confirmed it suffered at least £206m in lost revenues.
