Morrisons shoppers fume after cyber attack causes shortgages and empty shelves

The supermarket chain confirmed that the ransomware attack on the third-party company Blue Yonder impacted warehouse supply chains and caused shortages of fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat in its stores

Morrisons have seen major food shortages across a number of UK supermarket stores after a cyber attack last week.

Shoppers have taken to social media to complain about the lack of fresh produce on display at the supermarket over the last few days. The shortages came after hackers hit a software system Morrisons uses to manage its supply chain last week. The supermarket chain confirmed that this ransomware attack on the third-party company Blue Yonder impacted warehouse supply chains and caused shortages of fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat in its stores.

The spokesperson noted that its ambient and frozen food ranges were unaffected. The spokesperson said: "We are currently operating satisfactorily on our back up systems and we're working very hard to deliver for our customers across the country."

Even though Morrisons says the incident has now been resolved through the use of its back up system, shoppers are seeing the effects in stores. One Morrisons shopper shared an image to X - formerly Twitter - on Monday of empty shelves at the supermarket's Morley store. The post read: "10.30 monday morning 25 November Morley store.... wonder why I decided to go, plenty of other empty shelves."

Another shopper posted pictures of more empty shelves, commenting: "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 ..."

A third shopper shared: "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 fourth shared: "@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!"

It appears the supermarket chain has not informed customers of the incident, as many theories for the reason behind the empty shelves were shared online. One X user suggested Brits were stocking up for Storm Bert while others blamed the shortages on the snow. Others were frustrated at the supermarket chain for not making an official statement about the issue to help customers avoid "wasted journeys".

Morrisons has not confirmed how many stores were impacted; however, posts on social media indicate that the issue was experienced nationwide. The Mirror has approached Morrisons for comment.