Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is bracing for weeks of disruption after a devastating cyberattack forced it to shut down factories, suspend deliveries and send thousands of staff home.
The attack, claimed by a group called Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters linked to the collective behind recent hacks on M&S, Harrods and the Co-op, has rendered JLR’s global IT systems unusable. Without diagnostic tools, dealerships cannot properly service vehicles, register new sales or access online parts catalogues.
JLR’s main assembly plants in Solihull and Halewood and its engine plant in Wolverhampton have all been idled, with workers told not to report for shifts this week — and possibly far longer. Senior insiders have conceded the outage will take “a matter of weeks rather than days” to resolve, with a “long tail of work” needed even once systems are restored.
The shockwaves are being felt well beyond JLR’s 30,000-strong workforce. Suppliers including Evtec, WHS Plastics, SurTec and OPmobility, which together employ more than 6,000 people, have already laid off staff temporarily.
“Jaguar Land Rover is an anchor institution,” said Raj Kandola, chief executive of the Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. “It’s not just about the people it employs directly, it’s the supply chains.”
David Roberts, chairman of Evtec, warned “many, many thousands of people” across the Midlands are waiting to get back to work. With JLR production lines silent, Roberts said suppliers had no choice but to furlough workers until further notice.
Analysts estimate the attack is costing JLR £5m a day in lost profits. “This is catastrophic,” said Professor David Bailey, business economist at Birmingham University. “The longer it goes on, the greater the likelihood customers will go elsewhere.”
Tariffs, turmoil and transition
The cyberattack caps a torrid year for JLR. In March, President Donald Trump imposed 25% import tariffs on cars and parts — a hammer blow to JLR’s biggest single market, the US, which accounts for roughly a quarter of sales. Shipments were suspended for more than a month before a temporary trade deal was struck, allowing 100,000 UK cars into America at a 10% tariff, quadruple the previous rate.
While JLR posted a bumper £2.5bn profit to March, largely on the back of Slovakian-made Defender sales, quarterly profits later slumped by almost half in the wake of Trump’s tariffs. The turmoil coincided with the sudden resignation of CEO Adrian Mardell, replaced by Tata Motors’ finance chief PB Balaji in August.
The company is also preparing to relaunch its Jaguar brand as an all-electric luxury marque, dropping its iconic “growler” logo in a controversial rebrand aimed at younger buyers. Trump derided the move as “stupid” and “seriously WOKE”.
The UK government said it was working “closely with JLR” to monitor the situation. The National Cyber Security Centre has been called in, while ministers face pressure to provide support to cushion the blow to supply chains. In 2011, the government offered £150m to suppliers after Japanese carmakers Nissan and Honda were hit by the Fukushima disaster.
Former Nissan COO and Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer said JLR may need similar intervention. “It runs into billions really quickly, more than any single company can withstand. You probably end up with some form of state bailout,” he said.
JLR apologised to customers, suppliers and staff, saying: “We want to thank everyone for their patience and support. We are very sorry for the disruption. Our retail partners remain open and we will continue to provide updates.”
For the West Midlands, the paralysis recalls the pandemic shutdown of 2020. But with no timeline for recovery, many fear this crisis could prove even more damaging.
