Workers throughout the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) supply chain are being told to apply for universal credit following the cyber attack on the company, a union has said.

Unite said staff were being laid off with “reduced or zero pay” following the hack, which has forced the carmaker to shut down its IT networks and halt production.

Unite has called for the UK government to set up a furlough scheme, similar to the one announced by the Scottish government for bus maker Alexander Dennis.

JLR declined to comment on the union’s claim. It has previously said factory production would not resume until 24 September at the earliest, but sources claim disruption could last until November.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said it was the “government’s responsibility to protect jobs and industries that are a vital part of the economy”.

“Workers in the JLR supply chain must not be made to pay the price for the cyber attack,” she added.

Minister for Industry Chris McDonald met representatives from JLR on Tuesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, he said he has had discussions with the firm about restarting production and will be meeting with others in the industry, and those that supply it, in the coming days to hear about the issues they are facing as a result of the cyber attack.

“We know this is a worrying time for those affected, and although Jaguar Land Rover are taking the lead on support for their own supply chain, our cyber experts are supporting them to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” he said.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday there were currently no discussions about offering taxpayer help to JLR amid the production pause.

JLR’s supply chain supports 104,000 jobs in the UK and sits at the top of a pyramid of suppliers, many of whom are highly dependent on the carmaker being their main customer.

The hack, which occurred more than two weeks ago, has forced the manufacturer to shut down its computer systems and close production lines worldwide.

The crisis is thought to have cost JLR at least £50m a week. A criminal investigation is under way.

There are growing concerns that many of JLR’s suppliers, small and medium-sized firms, do not have the resources to cope with an extended interruption to business and subsequent losses.

JLR’s three factories in Britain normally produce around 1,000 cars a day. It has told many of its 33,000 staff to stay at home.

Liam Byrne MP, the chair of the Commons business and trade committee, said on Wednesday that the attack could see hundreds of supply chain staff laid off.

Byrne said he had written to the chancellor to request Covid-style emergency help for suppliers.

“This is not a mere flicker on the screen at Jaguar Land Rover, this is a digital siege and it’s sent a cyber shockwave through their supply chain,” he said.

“We think this is an attack which is much, much worse than the attack that took down Marks and Spencer.”

JLR has said it delayed restarting production as a “forensic investigation” of the cyber attack continued and it considered a “controlled restart” of global operations.