Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover delays factory reopening; plants shut till October — here’s why

Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC announced on Tuesday that it has extended its production shutdown yet again as the cyberattack that severely disrupted its retail and manufacturing operations persists, the company said in a statement.

The statement comes as the company had previously aimed to resume operations this week. However, the shutdown will now continue until October 1, 2025.

Britain's largest carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors, had shut down its systems in early September to contain the hack, which affected some data, although it was not specified whether this involved customers, suppliers or internal systems.

Investigation continues

In a press release, the company stated that it has informed all its colleagues, suppliers, and partners about the extension of the current pause in production, as an investigation into the cyberattack is underway.

“We have made this decision to give clarity for the coming week as we build the timeline for the phased restart of our operations and continue our investigation,” the company said.

The cyberattack has derailed the Range Rover maker's operations for more than three weeks now, Bloomberg reported. JLR’s problems are disrupting the supply chain, with suppliers struggling to cope with the fallout.

Who is impacted?

The prolonged shutdown has raised concerns about the financial impact on JLR's supply chain in Britain, which includes many smaller firms and supports 104,000 jobs across the country, Reuters reported.

British newspaper The Telegraph also reported that the production shutdown could last until November, although JLR denied the claim.

The breach was the latest in a string of cyber and ransomware attacks targeting companies around the world. In Britain, several companies, including Marks & Spencer and Co-op, have fallen victim to such data breaches.

In a more recent instance, the automated check-in systems provided by Collins Aerospace in several European airports also fell prey to a cyberattack. Major airports such as Heathrow in London, Brussels, and Berlin were impacted by the breach, which caused flight cancellations and delays since last Friday.