Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has extended its production shutdown to at least September 24, as the company continues to investigate the cyberattack that brought its global operations to a standstill earlier this month.
The disruption is now rippling across the UK's industrial sector, with key suppliers reporting serious financial impacts.
The automaker announced that the ongoing forensic investigation has made it necessary to delay any attempt at a controlled restart of its systems and production lines. JLR emphasized that the process will “take time” and offered apologies for the continued disruption.
The incident began on September 1 and was later confirmed to include a data breach, though JLR has not disclosed the type of compromised data nor attributed the attack to any threat actor. The hacking group “Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters” has claimed responsibility, but the company has yet to validate that claim. JLR shut down internal IT systems to contain the threat, halting production across major plants and suspending logistics, sales, and supplier operations globally.
The disruption is having acute consequences on the broader automotive supply chain. Shares in Autins Group PLC, a UK-based manufacturer of acoustic and thermal insulation components for JLR vehicles, plunged by as much as 55% on Wednesday following a trading update warning of a “material effect” on its UK operations. The company employs 148 people and supplies over 160 customer locations across Europe. It reported £7.7 million in revenue over the last five months, but now faces immediate financial strain due to JLR's production freeze.
Autins CEO Andy Bloomer said the company is implementing emergency cost controls, including the use of banked hours, canceled raw material orders, and halted discretionary spending. While the firm is in close contact with JLR, Bloomer admitted that the “true impact” of the incident on Autins and the wider automotive industry “will not be known for some time.”
JLR is one of the UK's most significant manufacturers, accounting for roughly 4% of all goods exports last year. The scale and duration of the attack have prompted political concerns, with Labour MP Liam Byrne describing the incident as a “cyber shockwave ripping through our industrial heartlands.” Byrne urged the UK government to intervene, warning that inaction could lead to widespread job losses and business closures across the sector.
Calls for government support have also come from trade unions, with Unite demanding a furlough scheme for impacted workers. Thousands of JLR employees have already been instructed not to report for work, and supply chain layoffs are reportedly underway.
No timeline has been provided for the full restoration of JLR's operations. Internal systems, including manufacturing, logistics, and supplier portals, remain offline as the company continues forensic analysis.
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