The UK government has announced that it will underwrite a £1.5bn loan guarantee to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which has been struggling to fully restore its operations after a crippling cyberattack.
JLR had to suspend production at its UK factories for weeks after being targeted by hackers in August, which forced it to "proactively shut down" its systems, causing "severe disruptions to its retail and production activities."
The loan from a commercial bank is meant “to give certainty to its supply chain” and will be paid over five years to strengthen the company’s cash reserves. It will be backed by the Export Development Guarantee (EDG) provided by export credit agency UK Export Finance.
“This cyber-attack was not only an assault on an iconic British brand, but on our world-leading automotive sector and the men and women whose livelihoods depend on it,” Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said.
“Following our decisive action, this loan guarantee will help support the supply chain and protect skilled jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside and throughout the UK.”
JLR is one of the largest UK exporters, which employs 30,000 people – and its supply chain in the UK automotive sector supports about 100,000 more jobs. The move is directly meant to help save thousands of jobs and protect smaller firms that rely on JLR.
“This support is vital to the West Midlands - it will keep people in work, protect the smaller firms that rely on JLR and give our region the stability it needs while production is paused,” said Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker.
“I’ll keep working hard with ministers and industry to safeguard jobs and make sure our world-class automotive sector comes through this stronger.”
Just recently, JLR began a “phased restart” of some of its systems, with the foundational work of its recovery programme “firmly underway”.
Additionally, a report from The Sunday Times said that the company was planning to start production at its Wolverhampton engine works on October 6th.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are markedmarked