º£½ÇÊÓƵ carmaker JLR has extended its shutdown into next week following a recent cyber attack.
The manufacturer has told staff across its factories, suppliers and partners that the closure will continue until Wednesday September 24.
A statement released by the company said: "We have taken this decision as our forensic investigation of the cyber incident continues and as we consider the different stages of the controlled restart of our global operations which will take time.
"We are very sorry for the continued disruption this incident is causing and we will continue to update as the investigation progresses."
JLR, which is headquartered in Coventry, was forced to pause production at its º£½ÇÊÓƵ plants across the West Midlands and on Merseyside and in Slovakia, Brazil, India and China following the cyber attack which shut down its systems on August 31.
Staff have been told not to return to work while production lines remain affected.
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JLR has said it was "working around the clock" to get things running again, including bringing in cyber security specialists and introducing workarounds to keep activity going.
However, the cost of the prolonged period of disruption is likely to be building for the manufacturer which produces around 1,000 cars a day globally.
Meanwhile, it said it believed "some data" had been accessed in the hack although it did not specify who had been affected, such as customers or staff.
Comment: JLR screeches to a halt
The company said it was contacting people if it found their data had been affected. Executives from JLR are due to meet officials from the Department for Business and Trade today.
Trade union Unite warned that thousands of workers in JLR's supply chain were at risk of losing their livelihoods and called on the Government to introduce a furlough scheme akin to what was seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Staff directly employed by JLR are not thought to be at risk of losing their jobs.
"The severity of the delays means the banked hours agreements that usually accompany supply chain manufacturing shutdowns are not adequate," Unite said in a statement.
General secretary Sharon Graham added: "The Government needs to defend jobs when our industries are under attack.
"Many º£½ÇÊÓƵ workers in small and medium automotive manufacturers are already facing insecurity because of the low volume crisis in the sector.
"Thousands of these workers in the JLR supply chain now find their jobs are under an immediate threat because of the cyber attack.
"Ministers need to act fast and introduce a furlough scheme to ensure that vital jobs and skills are not lost while JLR and its supply chain get back on their feet."
