Jaguar Land Rover Secures £1.5 Billion Loan to Fuel Innovation and Sustainability

The UK government is backing a £1.5 billion ($2 billion) loan for Jaguar Land Rover after a cyberattack shut down the automaker's production and left suppliers struggling to pay workers. The loan will help the company support its supply chain partners who have been hit hard by the production halt.

The attack earlier this month forced Jaguar Land Rover to stop operations at factories in the UK, Slovakia, Brazil, and India. This created a ripple effect through the company's supplier network, with some suppliers having to lay off workers while others wait for payments that were delayed by the shutdown.

The government-backed loan will come from a commercial bank with guarantees from UK Export Finance, the country's export credit agency. Jaguar Land Rover will repay the money over five years.

This move shows how cyberattacks on major manufacturers can quickly spread beyond the targeted company. When a big automaker like Jaguar Land Rover stops production, hundreds of smaller suppliers feel the impact almost immediately. These suppliers often operate on tight cash flows and depend on regular payments to keep their own operations running.

The stakes are significant for the UK economy. Jaguar Land Rover employs 34,000 people directly in Britain and supports another 120,000 jobs through its supply chain. The company is the UK's largest car manufacturer, making it a critical piece of the country's automotive sector.

The Labour government had been in talks with the company about how to help suppliers weather the crisis. Some suppliers were forced to furlough workers or reduce hours while waiting for the production restart and delayed payments to resume.

This type of government intervention reflects how cyber threats have become a national security and economic issue. When critical infrastructure or major employers get hit, the effects can spread quickly through the economy, sometimes requiring emergency financial support to prevent wider damage.