Jaguar Land Rover has restored parts of its IT systems as the British carmaker begins a "phased restart" following a damaging cyber attack. The company can now resume payments to suppliers after weeks of disruption caused by hackers.
Production at JLR's UK factories remains suspended and is expected to continue until October 1 at the earliest. The cyber attack forced the carmaker to shut down operations for several weeks.
A spokesman for JLR said: "As part of the controlled, phased restart of our operations, today we have informed colleagues, suppliers and retail partners that sections of our digital estate are now up and running. The foundational work of our recovery programme is firmly under way."
Payment systems operational
JLR has increased its processing capacity for invoices, enabling the resumption of payments to suppliers. Unions and politicians have warned that small suppliers producing parts for the car giant could collapse without urgent financial support.
The company's global parts logistics centre, which supplies spare parts for customer vehicle servicing, is returning to full operations. JLR has also resumed processing wholesale sales of its vehicles, allowing faster car sales and registration for clients.
Recovery collaboration
The carmaker is working around the clock with cybersecurity specialists, the UK Government's National Cyber Security Centre and law enforcement. "These are important initial steps as our dedicated teams work around the clock alongside cybersecurity specialists, the UK Government's NCSC and law enforcement to ensure we restart in a safe and secure manner," JLR said.
Government support considerations
Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) has refused to confirm whether the Government could purchase component parts from JLR suppliers to keep smaller businesses trading until production restarts. Reports on Thursday suggested officials were considering stepping in to help firms in the supply chain stay afloat.
In an interview with ITV Central, the Prime Minister said he was "really concerned" for the carmaker and "equally concerned about the other businesses that feed into JLR and the impact it's having on them". He said the Department for Business and Trade was "working 24/7 with those businesses to see what we can do" but added he was "not in a position to give you outcomes" of those conversations.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
