Jaguar Land Rover says a shutdown will continue until at least Oct 1 after cyberattack

LONDON (AP) – Jaguar Land Rover said Tuesday that its production lines, shut down after a cyberattack in August, will remain at a halt until at least Oct. 1.

Britain’s biggest automaker sent workers home from its factories in central and northwest England on Aug. 31.

The shutdown has rippled through the U.K. auto industry. JLR, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, employs more than 30,000 people, with its supply chain supporting tens of thousands more jobs.

The company has disclosed limited information about the nature of the attack and says it’s investigating.

JLR said in a statement that it had extended the pause in production “to give clarity for the coming week as we build the timeline for the phased restart of our operations and continue our investigation.”

It said that it was working with law enforcement and the U.K. government’s National Cyber Security Center “to ensure we restart in a safe and secure manner.”

The government said that Business Secretary Peter Kyle and Industry minister Chris McDonald will visit Jaguar Land Rover on Tuesday and talk to companies in the supply chain.

“We are acutely aware of the difficulties the stoppage is causing for those suppliers and their staff, many of whom are already taking a financial hit through no fault of their own – and we will do everything we can to reassure them that the government is on their side,” McDonald said.