Morrisons shoppers left fuming at shortages and empty shelves after cyber attack

Morrisons has been grappling with significant food shortages across its UK stores following a cyber attack last week. Customers have voiced their frustrations on social media regarding the noticeable absence of fresh produce in various branches in recent days.

The disruption was triggered by a ransomware attack on Blue Yonder, a third-party software provider that manages Morrisons' supply chain. A spokesperson for the supermarket confirmed the cyber incident had affected warehouse operations, leading to a scarcity of fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat products.

However, they assured that ambient and frozen goods were not impacted. The spokesperson elaborated: "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 back up systems and we're working very hard to deliver for our customers across the country."

Despite Morrisons' efforts to resolve the issue using backup systems, the consequences are still visible to shoppers. An image posted to X - previously known as Twitter - on Monday showed barren shelves at the Morley store, accompanied by the caption: "10.30 monday morning 25 November Morley store.... wonder why I decided to go, plenty of other empty shelves.", reports the Mirror.

Shoppers have taken to social media to express their frustration over empty shelves at various Morrisons stores, with one customer posting: "More reasons not to shop at Morrisons Empty shelf after empty shelf at Blaydon Morrisons. Is this the result of particularly poor stock control in this branch or is it systemic Whichever, trying to shop there today was a waste of time and a waste of petrol ..." Another dismayed shopper remarked: "Well, i have to say the shelves in my hometown Morrisons yesterday morning were pretty empty... no fresh meat or veg, same again today! ! " A third added: "@Morrisons Canterbury is utterly useless. No deli/butcher/fish/hot counters open. No beef joints, no braising steak, most meat shelves empty, majority of veg shelves empty, half the bread range unavailable at the bakery... just dire, especially at only 12 noon! ".

The cause of the widespread shortages remains unclear, as Morrisons has yet to comment on the situation. Customers speculate on various reasons, from people stocking up for Storm Bert to disruptions caused by snow.

The lack of communication from the supermarket chain has left many customers calling for an official statement to prevent further "wasted journeys". Posts across social media suggest that the shortage issue might be affecting Morrisons stores nationwide.