- Business Secretary and Industry Minister visited Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) today to show support for the company and meet with supply chain businesses.
- Government is in daily contact with JLR and cyber experts to listen to concerns and what support can be provided to get production back online.
- Government is continuing to work with industry to deliver security for the sector as part of modern Industrial Strategy and Plan for Change.
Today [23 September], Business Secretary Peter Kyle and Industry Minister Chris McDonald met with JLR’s CEO and senior executives during a visit to the company’s Gaydon headquarters.
Discussions included talks on the impacts of the cyber incident and how JLR can work towards restarting production.
Ministers received in-person briefings on the latest situation, before touring the site and hearing from workers who have been off work since the cyber incident occurred.
During these discussions, both Ministers acknowledged the severity of the situation which is impacting a key sector that supports thousands of skilled jobs which enables growth and innovation across the UK’s manufacturing sector.
This is the latest show of support for the firm and wider auto sector as the government is delivering the biggest set of announcements for the sector in the last decade – including securing landmark trade deals to boost exports and updating the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate to support UK manufacturers to safeguard jobs in the auto industry.
Following the visit, the Business Secretary and Minister for Industry also visited Webasto’s Sutton Coldfield site to engage with the impacted supply chain firm and learn about the supply chain’s resilience following the cyber incident.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said
I know this is a deeply worrying time for all those affected by the ongoing cyber incident and that’s why I visited JLR today to hear from the company, supply chain and workers.
Getting JLR back online as soon as possible is my top priority, providing much needed certainty to workers and suppliers.
This government is on the side of our world-leading automotive sector and by working closely with JLR and the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact of this incident, as well as helping the sector thrive long into the future through our modern Industrial Strategy.
Since last week Ministers have met with representatives from businesses, trade unions, trade associations and local authorities to discuss the impacts of the ongoing incident and show support, while the National Cyber Security Centre is working tirelessly to help coordinate the operational response to the incident.
