MPs write to government over JLR supply chain jobs

Antonia Bance is the Labour MP for Tipton and Wednesbury and a member of The Business and Trade Committee

A group of MPs from the West Midlands and Merseyside has written to the government, asking for financial help for supply-chain firms affected by the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) cyber attack.

Production lines at the firm have been at a standstill for more than a fortnight, with concerns growing that some companies could go bust without urgent support.

There is currently no end in sight to the issue, though suppliers have been told production at JLR's factories would not resume until 24 September at the earliest.

The government said JLR was taking the lead on supply chain support, but that it would be meeting with businesses.

About 30,000 people are employed directly by JLR, with a further 200,000 working in the firm's supply chain.

Antonia Bance - Labour MP for Tipton and Wednesbury and also a member of the Business and Trade Committee - is among the MPs to have written to the business secretary.

She said they were trying to make sure that there was attention on the matter and that the risk to jobs in the supply chain was properly understood.

JLR bosses were limited in what they were able to say, she said, although MPs had received briefings from the firm, but they had not included how long the situation would last.

The MPs have not been given any indication from JLR as to how long the knock-on effects of the cyber attack will last

She said she was hearing from supply-chain firms that said they were experiencing cash-flow problems.

This meant some firms were left unsure whether or not they could continue employing staff.

"A number of the plants in my area have sent all of their staff home and stopped production" Bance said.

"Most of them are continuing to pay their staff, but obviously that's a real financial strain on these sometimes quite small businesses, particularly when there is no end in sight."

Firms had gone to their own lenders and had been able to extend their overdraft facilities, she added.

JLR had been considering what it could do to support the supply chain, but Bance believed the government could help with a furlough scheme or by guaranteeing loans.

'Proud industry'

This would help save jobs and skills in the region, she added.

"We are not talking about businesses who are otherwise in trouble, we're talking about businesses who are thriving, who are looking to take on more staff, and if this cyber attack hadn't happened would be running up towards Christmas at full tilt," Bance said.

It would be "completely understandable" if people starting looking for other jobs if they did not feel firms could continue employing them, she added.

Tata, which owns JLR, should be doing "absolutely everything they can, including financial help," to ensure the supply chain survived, she said.

"I do think there's a responsibility on the owners, but I do also think that if we want to be a country that makes things again, if we are proud of our industry - and here in the West Midlands we could not be more proud of what we make and what we sell around the world - government may have to step in."

Minister for industry Chris McDonald said he had met with JLR bosses to discuss their plans and would meet with supply chain businesses in the coming days.

"We know this is a worrying time for those affected, and although Jaguar Land Rover are taking the lead on support for their own supply chain, our cyber experts are supporting them to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," he said.

The signatories to the letter included:

West Midlands

• Antonia Bance MP

• Alex Ballinger MP

• Chris Bloore MP

• Laurence Turner MP

• Sureena Brackenridge MP

• Sarah Edwards MP

• Josh Newbury MP

• Gurinder Singh Josan MP

• Sonia Kumar MP

• John Slinger MP

• Valerie Vaz MP

• Preet Kaur Gill MP

• Warinder Juss MP

• Liam Byrne MP

• Jodie Gosling

• Cat Eccles MP

• Dr Allison Gardner MP

• Tahir Ali MP

• Jacob Collier MP

• Rachel Taylor MP

• Matt Western MP

• Gareth Snell MP

Merseyside

• Derek Twigg MP

• Anneliese Midgley MP

• Kim Johnson MP

• Maria Eagle MP

• Bill Esterson MP

• Peter Dowd MP

• Ian Byrne MP

• Paula Barker MP

• Marie Rimmer MP