Jaguar Land Rover is expected to resume some production this week as it begins its phased restart of operations following a devastating cyber attack.
More than a month on from a cyber attack which knocked Jaguar Land Rover’s IT systems offline and forced a pause in production, JLR is expected to gradually return to operations.
Some sections of its manufacturing operations will resume in the coming days, weeks and months, including at sites in the West Midlands and Wolverhampton.
Reports suggest that manufacturing will first resume at JLR’s Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton.
A Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson 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.
“We have informed colleagues, retailers and suppliers that some sections of our manufacturing operations will resume in the coming days.”
It outlined that it was continuing to work alongside specialists, the National Cyber Security Centre and law enforcement.
This is being done to ensure the controlled, phased restart of its operations is done in a “safe and secure manner”.
Jaguar Land Rover is expected to resume some production activity in the near future
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PAThe spokesperson added: “We would like to thank everyone connected with JLR for their continued patience, understanding and support.
“We know there is much more to do but the foundational work of our recovery is firmly underway, and we will continue to provide updates as we progress.”
Last month, JLR announced that sections of its digital estate were back up and running, with the foundational work of the recovery programme “firmly underway”.
As part of this, it significantly increased its IT processing capacity for invoicing to clear the backlog of payments to suppliers.
Its Global Parts Logistics Centre, which supplies the parts distribution centres for its retailer partners, is also returning to normality.
JLR said this would allow retail partners to service vehicles and keep customers on the move during the ongoing production shutdown.
It added: “The financial system we use to process the wholesales of vehicles has been brought back online and we are able to sell and register vehicles for our clients faster, delivering important cash flow.”
The Government has also intervened, by backing the brand with a loan guarantee, which is expected to unlock £1.5billion in support.
The loan is from a commercial bank, which is backed by the Export Development Guarantee, provided by the export credit agency, UK Export Finance.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said: “This cyber-attack was not only an assault on an iconic British brand, but on our world-leading automotive sector and the men and women whose livelihoods depend on it.
Following our decisive action, this loan guarantee will help support the supply chain and protect skilled jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside and throughout the UK.”
Similarly, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the loan guarantee would protect thousands of jobs at Jaguar Land Rover, which she described as a “jewel in the crown of our economy”.