A popular supermarket in the United Kingdom, Morrisons, has attributed empty shelves at several of its stores, including its Ascot Road branch in West Watford, to a cyber attack that disrupted its supply chain.
Shoppers recently expressed frustration over the lack of fresh produce, with fruit, vegetables, and meat supplies severely affected. Customers at the Watford store described the situation as dire, with one calling it “a joke” and another saying, “It was terrible, I gave up and went elsewhere.” Some even reported being “shocked” by the extensive gaps on the shelves.
Photographs taken by shopper Grant Gamblen revealed aisles with empty or nearly depleted shelves, reflecting the gravity of the situation.
According to Watford Observer, the problem extended beyond Watford, as similar shortages were reported at Morrisons stores in Birmingham and Nottingham.
The supermarket confirmed that the issue stemmed from a cyber attack on Blue Yonder, the third-party company managing its warehouse supply systems.
In a statement, a Morrisons spokesperson explained, “Last week Blue Yonder suffered an outage which has impacted our warehouse management systems for fresh and produce. Ambient and Frozen are unaffected. We are currently operating on our backup systems and we’re working very hard to deliver for our customers across the country.”
