Government backs Jaguar Land Rover with £1.5bn Loan Guarantee Following Cyberattack
The UK government is providing a £1.5bn loan guarantee to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to support the automaker and its supply chain following a recent cyberattack that halted production. The move aims to protect thousands of jobs and mitigate the meaningful financial impact on the British car industry.
JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, has been grappling with operational disruptions since a cyberattack on August 31st, claimed by a group calling itself Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters – the same group responsible for high-profile attacks on retailers like Marks & Spencer and Co-op earlier this year. The disruption forced JLR to halt operations,with workers told to stay home since september 1st,and no firm return date yet established.
A parliamentary committee revealed that some small suppliers reported having as little as one week of cash reserves remaining.the production standstill is estimated to be costing JLR at least £50m per week, impacting its ability to build the approximately 1,000 cars daily produced across its three UK factories in Solihull and Wolverhampton (West Midlands), and Halewood (merseyside).
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch announced the loan guarantee, stating it woudl “help support the supply chain and protect skilled jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside and throughout the UK.” Chancellor Rachel Reeves added that the support would “protect thousands of those jobs with up to £1.5bn in additional private finance, helping them support their supply chain and protect a vital part of the British car industry.”
While welcoming the government’s intervention, Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith criticized the speed of the response, calling for a Labor-led cyber reinsurance scheme to safeguard British businesses from state-backed cyber actors. Liberal Democrat business spokesperson Sarah Olney echoed this sentiment, urging the government to consider a furlough scheme for affected workers.
Union Unite,representing JLR employees and those in the supply chain,described the support as an “crucial first step,” emphasizing the need for job guarantees and the protection of skills and pay. General Secretary Sharon Graham stated, “The money provided must now be used to ensure job guarantees and to also protect skills and pay in JLR and its supply chain.”
JLR confirmed its teams are working with cybersecurity specialists, the national Cyber Security Center (NCSC), and law enforcement to restore operations safely and securely. approximately 30,000 people are directly employed at JLR’s UK plants. A JLR spokesperson said, “The foundational work of our recovery programme is firmly underway, and we will continue to provide regular updates to our colleagues, retailers and suppliers.”
