LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s biggest car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is extending the closure of its factories until October 1 following a cyber attack in early September which has left its operations paralysed, and smaller suppliers struggling.
The luxury carmaker, owned by India’s Tata Motors, said in a statement on Tuesday it was preparing plans to resume production even as it extended the pause.
“We have made this decision to give clarity for the coming week as we build the timeline for the phased restart of our operations and continue our investigation,” JLR said as it announced the new October 1 date.
JLR’s three factories in Britain produce about 1,000 cars per day, and the group is said to be losing tens of millions of pounds, with many of its 33,000 staff told to stay at home.
There is concern about the impact of the stoppage on JLR’s British supply chain, which includes many smaller companies and supports 104,000 jobs across the country.
The Unite trade union has warned of job losses and said government support would be needed given the lengthy stoppage. Britain’s government said on Friday it was working closely with JLR to understand the impact on its supply chain.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton and Paul Sandle)
