Automotive giant Jaguar Land Rover is set to restart its manufacturing operation a month after being hit by a devastating cyber attack. Tony McDonough reports

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) says it will start to bring its manufacturing operations back online in the next few days – a month after they were crippled by a devastating cyber attack.

At the beginning of September JLR shut down production at its factory in Halewood in Merseyside, where it employs around 3,500 people, as well as at plants in Solihull, Wolverhampton, Castle Bromwich, Slovakia, China, India and Brazil.

In the following days a group of hackers believed to be behind the recent cyber attack on Marks & Spencer (M&S), went on messaging app Telegram claiming to be behind the JLR incident. They call themselves ‘Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters’.

Not only has this had a severe impact on JLR itself but also on companies in its extensive supply chain which, in the UK alone, employs around 100,000 people.

In its latest statement, JLR said: “As the controlled, phased restart of our operations continues, we are taking further steps towards our recovery and the return to manufacture of our world‑class vehicles.

“Today we are informing colleagues, retailers and suppliers that some sections of our manufacturing operations will resume in the coming days.

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We continue to work around the clock alongside cybersecurity specialists, the UK Government’s NCSC and law enforcement to ensure our restart is done in a safe and secure manner.

We would like to thank everyone connected with JLR for their continued patience, understanding and support. We know there is much more to do but the foundational work of our recovery is firmly underway, and we will continue to provide updates as we progress.”