Government officials confirmed they’ve held talks with suppliers hit by the continued Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) production shutdown, as fears grow over job losses across the automotive supply chain.
Representatives from the Department for Business and Trade joined a unprecedented meeting of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) Automotive Components Section today to listen to directly from affected firms.
The department said the session was geared toward understanding the challenges and concerns facing suppliers.
The talks come as JLR’s production halt enters its third week following a cyber attack at the top of August. The corporate has not built a automobile because the attack, which has stopped it from placing orders with its network of UK suppliers employing an estimated 100,000 people.
JLR had hoped to restart production this week but has prolonged the pause until September 24, warning that restarting will “take time”.
Reports from inside the availability chain suggest some firms are running out of money and have begun shedding staff.
Lear Corporation UK in Redditch, which makes seats for the Range Rover, suspended production two weeks ago. Most of its 950 employees are currently at home on reduced pay, while 220 agency staff have been stood down without pay. Similar measures are being taken by other suppliers.
Before the shutdown, JLR was producing around 1,000 vehicles a day – 700 of them within the UK – generating roughly £70m-£75m in each day revenue and about £5m in profit.
The Unite union is warning that 1000’s of jobs could possibly be in danger and has urged ministers to implement an emergency furlough-style support scheme to guard employees at suppliers.
In a joint statement, the SMMT and the Department for Business and Trade said: “The recent cyber incident is having a major impact on JLR and on the broader automotive supply chain. Government, including cyber experts, are involved with the corporate to support the duty of restoring production operations, and are working closely with JLR to know any impacts on the availability chain.”
This Article First Appeared At www.am-online.com
