JLR Resumes Partial Production After Cyberattack, Offers Upfront Supplier Payments

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced it will restart select manufacturing operations on Wednesday, more than six weeks after a severe cyberattack forced a full shutdown.  The resumption will include its engine and battery units, along with body, paint, and stamping shops across its UK plants. 

To support its suppliers, especially smaller firms hit hardest by the outage, JLR introduced a new financing scheme that allows qualifying suppliers to receive upfront payments, instead of waiting the usual 60 days post-invoice.  The company says it will absorb the financing costs during this recovery phase to help stabilize the supply chain. 

The attack, first disclosed in early September, disrupted JLR’s retail, operations, and IT systems globally.  During the shutdown, JLR’s wholesale deliveries dropped by about 24%, and retail sales fell 17% year-on-year.  The restart is being rolled out carefully—Range Rover and Range Rover Sport lines at Solihull will resume later in the week. 

JLR’s CEO, Adrian Mardell, called the resumption an “important moment” and emphasized that the supplier community is central to the company’s recovery.  With government backing via a £1.5 billion loan guarantee to support its supply chain, JLR is hoping to recover momentum while protecting its network of parts makers.