The phased restart of JLR’s manufacturing operations began at the Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre (EPMC), where the company builds engines, and its Battery Assembly Centre (BAC), both in the West Midlands.
JLR employees were also able to return to the company's stamping operations in Castle Bromwich, Halewood and Solihull, and other key areas of its Solihull vehicle production plant – such as its body shop, paint shop and its Logistics Operations Centre (LOC) – which feeds parts to JLR's global manufacturing sites.
This activity will be closely followed by vehicle manufacturing in Nitra, Slovakia, and restart of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport (MLA) production lines in the Solihull facility this week. Further updates on the next steps of the controlled, phased restart will follow, the firm said, including for it's Halewood plant on Merseyside.
In addition, the company also announced it is fast‑tracking a new financing scheme that will provide qualifying JLR suppliers with cash‑up‑front during the production restart phase.
Since the cyber incident, JLR has introduced solutions to support its suppliers, including establishing a dedicated supplier help desk and implementing a manual payment system to settle outstanding invoices, and this week re‑establishing automated supplier payment systems.
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With the new scheme, qualifying JLR suppliers will be paid much faster than under their standard payment terms, aiding their cashflow in the near term. Following an initial phase with qualifying suppliers critical to the restart of production, the scheme will be expanded to include some non‑production suppliers.
Working with a banking partner, this short‑term financing scheme means qualifying JLR suppliers will receive a majority prepayment shortly after the point of order and a final true‑up payment on receipt of invoice. JLR’s typical supplier payment terms are 60‑days post invoice, so this scheme accelerates payments by as much as 120 days. JLR will reimburse the financing costs for those JLR suppliers who use the scheme during the restart phase, as the company returns to full production.
This move follows steps taken by JLR during September to prudently bolster its liquidity, following the interruption to business since the cyber incident.
“This week marks an important moment for JLR and all our stakeholders as we now restart our manufacturing operations following the cyber incident," Adrian Mardell, CEO of JLR, said in a statement. “Our suppliers are central to our success, and today we are launching a new financing arrangement that will enable us to pay our suppliers early, using the strength of our balance sheet to support their cashflows.
“I would like to thank everyone connected to JLR for their commitment, hard work and endeavour in recent weeks to bring us to this moment. We know there is much more to do but our recovery is firmly underway.”
