The UK government is stepping in with a major financial boost for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) after a crippling cyberattack disrupted its operations. Officials announced a 1.5-billion-pound ($2 billion) loan guarantee to help stabilize the company’s supply chain, which ground to a halt for nearly a month.
Small suppliers to JLR were on the brink, warning they had just one week of cash left before facing collapse. Tata Motors, JLR’s Indian parent company, runs three key factories in the UK that normally churn out about 1,000 vehicles a day. These plants in Birmingham and Liverpool support thousands of jobs in the local automotive sector.
The cyberattack, which hit on September 2, forced shutdowns at JLR’s Solihull, Halewood, and Wolverhampton facilities. Production won’t resume until at least October 1, leading to estimated weekly losses of around 50 million pounds. A recent survey shows smaller suppliers cutting staff hours or laying off workers to cope with the financial squeeze.
UK Business Minister Peter Kyle called the incident “not only an assault on an iconic British brand but on our world-leading automotive sector.” He added that the loan guarantee “will help support the supply chain and protect skilled jobs.”
The funding comes from private sources but gets backing from Britain’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance. This setup aims to unlock the full 1.5 billion pounds to keep JLR’s suppliers afloat.
Tata Motors felt the heat in the stock market, with shares dropping nearly 5% this week amid fears of a massive hit. Reports suggest JLR could face an uninsured loss of about €2 billion—potentially wiping out the company’s entire profit from the previous fiscal year. That’s because JLR hadn’t locked in a cyber insurance policy before the attack struck.
This move highlights growing worries about cyberattacks on global automakers and their ripple effects on jobs and economies. As recovery efforts continue, the focus stays on getting production lines back up and running smoothly.
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