MPs and union urge government to intervene and support JLR supply chain
Source: The Business Desk - Afroze Zaidi
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have released a joint statement today on the JLR cyber incident, in response to concerns over how it has affected JLR’s supply chain.
The statement came following a meeting which was organised by SMMT’s Automotive Components Section, and attended by DBT, to discuss the serious and long-ranging effects of the cyber attack on JLR which took place nearly three weeks ago. In particular, the meeting was intended to address the impact of the attack on potentially hundreds of companies supplying to JLR.
The statement said: “The Government, including government cyber experts, are in contact with the company to support the task of restoring production operations, and are working closely with JLR to understand any impacts on the supply chain.”
According to the statement, the meeting allowed DBT “to listen to suppliers directly and understand the challenges and concerns they are facing.”
MPs have raised alarm bells over companies that are reliant on JLR’s business to stay afloat, with a risk that they could go under without intervention or financial support.
JLR has officially paused production until 24 September; however, Jason Richards, West Midlands regional officer at Unite, told BBC West Midlands Radio he thought there was “zero chance” production would resume next week.
Earlier in the week, MPs from the West Midlands and Merseyside wrote to the government calling for financial support for companies in the supply chain in order to secure the estimated 200,000 jobs now placed at risk as a result of the cyber attack on JLR.
JLR has declined to comment on Richards’ claim and said it’s working around the clock in order to resume operations.
Richards added that within the automotive supply chain, some employers are laying off with pay, some are laying off on reduced pay, and some are introducing interim banked hours agreements; however, some employers are also laying off without pay.
He pointed out that staff laid off without pay will get the statutory award of £39 a day for five days before being signposted to Universal Credit.
“We’re having very little feedback from government – the Labour Party was farmed by the trade union movement… it’s time for the Labour Party to step up,” Richards said.
Antonia Bance, who is MP for Tipton and Wednesbury and also a Business and Trade Committee member, was among the MPs who wrote to business secretary Peter Kyle.
She said companies in JLR’s supply chain had told her about cash flow issues they were experiencing, with some facing uncertainty over whether they could keep employing their staff. A number of plants have stopped production and sent staff home.
Bance said: “Most of them are continuing to pay their staff, but obviously that’s a real financial strain on these sometimes quite small businesses, particularly when there is no end in sight.”
Although JLR has reportedly been considering what it can do to support businesses in its supply chain, Bance, along with a number of other MPs, believes the government should step in, helping to save businesses and jobs in the region.
Bance added: “I do think there’s a responsibility on the owners, but I do also think that if we want to be a country that makes things again, if we are proud of our industry – and here in the West Midlands we could not be more proud of what we make and what we sell around the world – government may have to step in.”