As the CDK Global software outage continues into its second week, car dealerships are facing significant financial losses. With the inability to track customer interactions, orders, and sales due to the cyberattack-induced blackout, workers in the US automotive industry are struggling to make ends meet. The outage, affecting nearly 15,000 car dealerships across North America, has highlighted the severe impact a cyberattack can have on an entire industry.
According to estimates by Anderson Economic Group, the ongoing system collapse at CDK could result in direct losses of approximately $944 million for affected car dealers if the outage lasts three weeks. The outage began last Wednesday following two cyber incidents that disrupted CDK’s systems. In a statement on Friday, the company reported progress in bringing some dealerships back online, although a full resolution is not expected until July.
Workers in the automotive retail sector have expressed concerns about the impact on their livelihoods. Norm Phillips, a car parts delivery driver, has been unable to work since the malfunction at CDK. Without access to the software, he feared losing his job and struggled to make ends meet. Despite the challenges, some dealerships have found alternative methods to continue operations, such as tracking parts deliveries and collections manually.
The outage has left employees like Bernard Irvin, a salesperson at a Ford dealership in South Carolina, struggling to conduct business as usual. Unable to use CDK’s recordkeeping system to assist clients, Irvin faced difficulties in making sales and tracking commission payments accurately. Without access to essential software, the dealership resorted to handwritten documents to finalize transactions.
Despite the challenges posed by the ongoing outage, some workers have expressed resilience and adaptability in finding solutions to keep their businesses running. As CDK works to restore its systems, the automotive industry continues to navigate the impacts of the cyberattack on its operations.
