Jaguar Land Rover confirms some production will restart tomorrow after damaging cyber attack

The phased restart of manufacturing operations will begin at its West Midlands sites, namely the Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre (EPMC) and the Battery Assembly Centre (BAC).

Both of these will restart operations tomorrow (Wednesday, October 8), will JLR workers also returning to the company's stamping operations in Castle Bromwich, Halewood and Solihull.

The Solihull vehicle production plant will see employees return to the body shop, paint shop and the Logistics Operations Centre (LOC).

Later this week, manufacturing in Nitra, Slovakia, will also return, as well as the restart of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport production lines.

JLR confirmed that it would provide further updates on the controlled restart in the near future, including for staff working at the Halewood plant in Merseyside.

Adrian Mardell, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, described the phased restart as an "important moment" for the company following the cyber attack at the end of August and start of September.

He continued, saying: "From tomorrow, we will welcome back our colleagues at our engine production plant in Wolverhampton, shortly followed by our colleagues making our world-class cars at Nitra and Solihull.

“Our suppliers are central to our success, and today we are launching a new financing arrangement that will enable us to pay our suppliers early, using the strength of our balance sheet to support their cash flows."

JLR will be fast-tracking a new financing scheme to provide qualifying suppliers with cash up front during the phased restart.

In the aftermath of the cyber attack, JLR introduced measures for its supply chain, including a dedicated help desk and manual payment system to settle outstanding invoices.

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The manufacturer re-established its automated supplier payment systems this week as part of the controlled, phased restart.

Following the initial phase of the financing scheme, it will be expanded to some non-production suppliers following the boost to qualifying JLR suppliers.

It added that it was working with a bank partner to provide the short-term financing scheme, alongside the production restart.

Any company which qualifies for the scheme will receive a majority prepayment shortly after the point of order, and a final payment upon the receipt of the invoice.

Typically, JLR suppliers receive payment 60 days after an invoice is submitted, with JLR highlighting how the scheme will accelerate payments.

The Coventry-based automaker will also reimburse financing costs for JLR suppliers who made use of the scheme during the restart phase.

The UK Government also intervened with a £1.5billion loan guarantee to support its supply chain, which will be paid back over the next five years.

Mr Mardell, who is set to step down as CEO, concluded: "I would like to thank everyone connected to JLR for their commitment, hard work and endeavour in recent weeks to bring us to this moment. We know there is much more to do, but our recovery is firmly underway."