Jaguar Land Rover gets £1.5bn government loan as cyber attack shutdown continues

Jaguar Land Rover has been issued a £1.5bn loan by the British government as the cyber attack, which began on August 31st, continues to halt production at the company.

According to Business Secretary Peter Kyle, the loan is designed to protect jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside and the wider UK area, where JLR employs about 30,000 people. The loan has been provided by a commercial bank and will be paid back by JLR over the next five years as it aims to settle a “backlog of payments” to its suppliers.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "Today we are protecting 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."

Concerns had been growing at the continued shutdown of JLR, with TheWorkersUnion.com claiming the pause in production was costing the business up to £7.1 million every day. The company has stopped placing orders with its 700 suppliers, some of whom had raised concerns about their own financial situations. No cars have been built this month, with JLR usually building around 1,000 a day across its factories in Solihull, Wolverhampton and Halewood.

In its latest response to the cyber attack, JLR had issued a statement earlier this week saying it had ‘informed colleagues, suppliers and partners that we have extended the current pause in production until Wednesday 1 October’. Workers have been told to stay home since September 1st.

The cyber attack is allegedly the work of a group called Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, which has also claimed responsibility for attacks on retailers Marks & Spencer and Co-op.

words: Mike Booth
pictures: Jaguar Land Rover