Demands for a furlough-style programme to assist workers hit by the devastating cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover intensified on Wednesday, following the carmaker's disclosure that production would remain halted for at least another week.
Thousands of employees at companies within the Range Rover manufacturer's supply network have endured weeks of uncertainty, with some facing redundancy or being instructed to "go home" since the devastating breach left the carmaker unable to remunerate several suppliers.
The deadlock has triggered a wave of appeals for ministers to unveil a taxpayer-funded payment mechanism reminiscent of the furlough programme utilised during the pandemic, aimed at supporting the workers and financially stretched businesses impacted by the assault, as reported by .
Last week, Unite – amongst the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's biggest unions – urged the government to intervene and cover wages for the affected employees from what it described as a "vital part of the economy", following reports some were being forced to apply for universal credit.
On Wednesday, the chair of the Business and Trade Committee endorsed those appeals, arguing there was a compelling "public policy case for state help" that was "growing more urgent every day".
"There is a good, strong case for government intervention," Labour's Liam Byrne told the BBC. "You've got to recognise... [that] as the Chancellor said a couple of days ago, you have now got state-backed threats behind a lot of these cyber criminal groups, attacking firms like JLR."
Byrne noted that the rise in state-sponsored cyber assaults had led to an expansion of "private ownership of what is in effect a public risk", which proved challenging both to insure against and defend.
The MP's remarks come after Jaguar Land Rover's announcement on Tuesday to prolong the company-wide closure of its plants until October, whilst attempting to assess the full scope of the breach.
The incident has left the manufacturer's supply network, thought to support as many as 200,000 workers across numerous enterprises, without orders and operations, placing some of the more fragile companies at risk of collapse.
Ministers have thus far avoided demands for a Covid-style support programme.
During a visit to JLR's Wolverhampton facility on Tuesday, industry minister Chris McDonald stated that an "off the shelf" solution could result in assisting "some businesses and not... other businesses".
New business secretary Peter Kyle is alternatively considering whether to transform the government into a buyer of components manufactured by the suppliers, until JLR can resume its purchasing, according to ITV News.
Byrne, whose Birmingham constituency sits close to JLR's facility, also confirmed his committee was organising a gathering of impacted suppliers on Thursday. "The business and trade committee – on behalf of Parliament – is bringing together suppliers from across the supply chain tomorrow in order to try and get to the bottom of exactly what is going on, and what the impact of an extended delay would be," he said.
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