COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Liam Byrne MP is concerned hundreds of workers could lose their livelihoods following the JLR hack



The cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is a "digital siege" that is seeing supply chain workers "laid off in their hundreds", an MP has said.

Liam Byrne, chair of the Commons business and trade committee and Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill & North Solihull, said: "We fear if the government doesn't step up soon, people will be laid off in their thousands."

The firm said on Tuesday factory production would not resume until 24 September at the earliest and apologised for the ongoing disruption.

The hack happened more than two weeks ago and has forced the company to shut down computer systems and halt production.

Though some have warned disruption could last until November, JLR described this as "speculation".

Production lines were paused on 1 September, when the hack came to light.

The shutdown is believed to be costing the firm, which has factories in Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood, an engine facility in Wolverhampton, and plants overseas, at least £50m a week.

The company has not revealed how much damage was caused, but a criminal investigation has begun.

JLR said it had delayed restarting production as "forensic investigation" of the cyber incident continued and it considered a "controlled restart" of global operations.

The Unite union has claimed JLR supply chain workers laid off with reduced or no pay are being advised to apply for universal credit. JLR has declined to comment on the claim.

dutchman wrote:They're not able to SELL any cars and now suddenly find they're not able to produce any!

Government to guarantee £1.5bn JLR loan after cyber shutdown

The government will underwrite a £1.5bn loan guarantee to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in a bid to support its suppliers as a cyber attack continues to halt production at the car maker.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the loan, from a commercial bank, would protect jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside and across the UK.

The manufacturer has been forced to suspend production for weeks after being targeted by hackers at the end of August.

There have been growing concerns some suppliers, mostly small businesses, could go bust due to the prolonged shutdown. The company operates the largest supply chain in the UK automotive sector, employing around 150,000 people.

It is hoped the loan will give suppliers some certainty as the shutdown continues.

The government will underwrite the loan through the Export Development Guarantee (EDG), a financial support mechanism aimed at helping UK companies who sell overseas.

The loan will be paid back by JLR over five years, in an effort to boost the firm's cash reserves as it makes a "backlog of payments" to its suppliers.

Kyle said: "Following our decisive action, this loan guarantee will help support the supply chain and protect skilled jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside and throughout the UK."

More government help might be needed for JLR, says MP



More government assistance for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and its vast supply chain cannot be ruled out, a local MP has said, after the government announced it was backing a £1.5bn loan for the car maker.

Production at JLR's facilities in the UK have been suspended for nearly a month, and there have been growing concerns that some of JLR's suppliers could collapse within a week due to the ongoing shutdown.

Liam Byrne, a West Midlands MP and chair of the Commons Business and Trade Select Committee, said it "could well be" that other support was needed beyond the loan.

He also warned that without a better government and business effort, these cyber-attacks would become more frequent.

"I don't think we can rule out further intervention," said Byrne, who is the MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North.

"It could well be that there are other instruments needed – something like a Covid-style loan, for example, may be needed for some suppliers, but we've got to make sure this first big loan package is put to work first."

Production is not expected to resume at JLR's facilities in Solihull and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and Halewood in Merseyside until 1 October at the earliest, one month after production was first paused in response to the cyber-attack.

Byrne, speaking on BBC Radio 4, said there would be "a lot of smallprint attached to these loan conditions" to ensure suppliers are helped.

"I think there are going to be a lot of contractual clauses within the loan that basically force JLR in essence to drive cash through the supply chain," he said.

But he added it remains unclear how the businesses that supply the suppliers will be assisted.

'JLR supply chain workers are really struggling'



"I haven't been on wages for the past two weeks. I'm now dipping into savings, money that I've squirreled away for retirement, with no insight into exactly when this will be over."

Rich Mulligan, 63, is a stock control worker at Leadec in Coventry, a wheel and tyre facility that supplies Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

He said the factory "effectively closed down" about three weeks ago, days after JLR was attacked by cybercriminals on 31 August. There have been growing concerns some of JLR's suppliers could collapse within a week due to the ongoing shutdown.

"It was a slowdown at first," Mr Mulligan said. "Our first thing that we noticed was that we couldn't get on to the JLR systems."

Leadec have been contacted for a response.

With JLR being the firm's primary customer, it gradually "became clearer and clearer we just had less work to do", he said.

Mr Mulligan estimated there were about 200 full-time employees at Leadec's Coventry factory, including agency workers.

The temporary staff were released first after the hack, he said, followed by permanent workers.

"Because a lot of companies in the supply chain have not been paid by JLR, for five days in a three-month period, you're entitled to statutory lay-off pay of £39 a day," he said.

"Once we'd used up that five days pay, effectively we are technically employed by the company but there is no work for us, so it's a lay-off situation."

The stock controller, who is also Unite shop steward, said Leadec had set up a foodbank to support its workers facing extreme hardship.

"I'm a bit older, my mortgage is paid, my kids are grown up," he said. "These are low-paid jobs, we're talking just above minimum wage.

"People have got rent, they've got mortgages, they've got children, these are the people that are really, really struggling.

He hopes to see the £1.5bn loan go towards keeping the supply chain running, and to workers left without wages.

"We needed the money two weeks ago," he said, claiming he had already seen colleagues resign to seek alternative work.

"Their skills [are] walking out the door and this we don't need... But people are going do what they have to do to feed their families."

Suppliers' uncertainty despite JLR expected restart



The boss of a firm that supplies Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said his business still faces an uncertain future as production at the car giant is set to restart following a crippling cyber-attack.

Michael Beese, managing director of Genex UK, which presses metal parts, said there was only "a finite element of cash" available while production was halted.

The majority of his 17-strong team, based outside Walsall, had to be temporarily laid off without pay, he said, and they did not yet have a return date.

He added the criminals behind the attack made him feel "very angry" due to the tens of thousands of people the situation had affected.

About 30,000 people are directly employed at JLR's UK plants with about 100,000 working for firms in the supply chain.

"I think for the staff it's very concerning, worrying, stressful - and I think I'm sharing those same feelings as well," Mr Beese said.

He added he had not wanted his firm to close, perfering to try to keep things going, but that it was difficult as commercial lending rates were too steep.

Mr Beese said he had been offered a loan with a 16% interest rate which also needed a 100% personal guarantee - meaning he risked losing his home if payments were not kept up.

"I've got a good business, I've got a good group of staff with me that are all very capable and I really don't want to lose it," he said.

He welcomed the government's £1.5bn loan guarantee for JLR, believed to be the first time a company has received government help as a result of a cyber-attack, but he questioned the speed at which it might filter down the supply chain to companies like his.

He wanted the government to consider giving securities against loans for smaller businesses as well.

There were many others in a similar situation, he said, but they were cautious about speaking out.

Meanwhile, he was hopeful things may now start to return to normal - if the Wolverhampton engine plant started up again this week, others would start up fairly soon, he said.

"We do a myriad of parts across a number of their sites, so any site that opens is fantastic news," he told BBC Radio WM.