JLR factory production lines resuming hailed as ‘significant moment’

Range Rover production lines in Solihull have resumed, according to car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

About 6,500 employees were back working at the site, it said, following the phased restart of operations after a major cyber-attack.

About 1,000 employees also started work in the car maker’s Wolverhampton engine plant on Wednesday, it said, marking a “significant moment” on its journey back to full vehicle production.

The company said it planned for all its manufacturing sites to be back up and running by the end of next week as it recovered from the incident.

JLR revealed on Monday it had suffered a sharp drop in sales following the incident, adding it had been a “challenging quarter” as it also dealt with the impact of higher US tariffs.

There was a “strong sense of unity and momentum” as the company welcomed back staff, said global manufacturing director Luis Vara.

The company was back to doing “what we do best”, he added, “building quality luxury vehicles for our customers”.

Stamping operations in Castle Bromwich, West Midlands, and Halewood, in Merseyside, have also resumed, the company said.

It said the remaining production lines in Solihull, which make the Range Rover Velar SUV and Jaguar F Pace models, would come back on stream next Monday, alongside vehicle manufacturing operations in Halewood.

Overseas factories in Pune, India, and Brazil are set to follow suit later next week, marking the final sites to resume operations.

“Wolverhampton is one of the first sites to restart production because it’s where we build all of the engines for JLR vehicles ahead of vehicle production taking place,” the company added.

The attack came at a crucial time for the company with the release of new 75-series number plates expected to trigger a surge in demand.

Between July and September, sales fell by 17.1% compared with the same period a year ago.

UK sales had dropped by a third, the company said.

JLR said this partly reflected the production freeze since the start of September.

JLR has announced a programme to fast-track payments to its direct suppliers, some of which have laid off workers after their revenues dried up following the hack.

The company also vowed to pay back financing costs for those JLR suppliers who use the scheme during the restart phase.

Industry insiders have warned the resumption of production, while welcome, does not end the crisis being experienced by many smaller suppliers.