JLR supply chain firms surveyed on shutdown impact

Jaguar Land Rover has said there was a "strong sense of unity and momentum" as the company welcomed back staff

Supply chain firms for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) have been taking part in a new survey on the impact of its forced shutdown after a cyber-attack.

Chambers of commerce in the West Midlands are asking questions focusing on financial pressures suppliers were under and what support was still required after production resumed.

Production halted in August and earlier this month JLR said it planned for all its manufacturing sites to be up and running by last Friday.

Coventry and Warwickshire chamber chief executive Corin Crane said an initial survey attracted 84 responses, covering 29,700 supply chain staff in the region, with nearly half of firms saying "they faced serious financial repercussions".

"While it's great news that JLR has begun operations again, the crisis isn't over," Mr Corin said.

It has opened the new survey along with Black Country Chamber of Commerce and Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

Black Country chamber CEO Sarah Moorhouse said its members were "continually telling us about the ongoing issues they are still facing".

She added that by conducting this new study, "it means we can feed critical, up-to-date information back to Government".

Coventry and Warwickshire chamber chief executive Corin Crane said its initial survey had more than 80 responses from supply chain firms

Earlier this month, JLR stated about 6,500 employees were back working at Solihull, following a phased restart of operations.

Previously, on 6 October, the company revealed it had suffered a sharp drop in sales following the cyber-attack, adding it had been a "challenging quarter" as it also dealt with the impact of higher US tariffs.

However, there was a "strong sense of unity and momentum" as the company welcomed back staff, global manufacturing director Luis Vara has said.

JLR has announced a programme to fast-track payments to direct suppliers, some of which have laid off workers after their revenues dried up following the hack.