UK govt may offer financial support to Jaguar Land Rover suppliers after cyberattack forces shutdown
UK government may provide financial assistance to Jaguar Land Rover suppliers after a cyberattack forced the automaker to shut its factories until October. With substantial losses, ministers are exploring options such as purchasing components or offering loans to help suppliers during this period.
The British government is exploring options to give a financial lifeline to Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) suppliers after a cyberattack forced the carmaker to stop production.
The shutdown, which has been extended until October, has had a significant financial impact. JLR reportedly loses at least 50 million pounds ($68 million) every week.
The luxury carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors, has three factories in Britain, which collectively produce 1,000 cars per day. The shutdown has caused many of its 33,000 employees to stay at home, BBC reported.
Potential government support
UK business minister Peter Kyle and industry minister Chris McDonald visited JLR on Tuesday. They discussed the situation with the company's CEO, Adrian Mardell, and discussed possible ways of restarting production and ensuring the long-term health of the supply chain.
“We have two priorities – helping Jaguar Land Rover get back up and running as soon as possible and the long-term health of the supply chain,” said McDonald.
The ministers are in talks to consider a scheme to buy component parts directly from the suppliers, which in turn will enable them to survive until JLR resumes production, the BBC report said.
The BBC said another possible option is offering government-backed loans to suppliers, although it added that this idea was not popular with suppliers.
When asked about the BBC report, the business department reiterated a previous statement on Tuesday in which Minister Kyle said, “We are doing everything we can to minimise the impact of this incident.”
Background of the JLR cyberattack
JLR was hit with a major cyberattack on August 31, 2025, which forced the carmaker to shut down its systems in early September to contain the hack. Although the breach affected some data, the company did not specify whether this involved customers, suppliers, or internal systems.
Bloomberg reported earlier that the cyberattack had derailed the Range Rover maker's operations for more than three weeks. JLR’s problems are disrupting the supply chain, and suppliers are struggling to cope with the fallout.
The breach was the latest in a string of cyber and ransomware attacks targeting companies around Britain, such as Marks & Spencer and Co-op.
In a more recent incident, the automated check-in systems provided by Collins Aerospace in several European airports also fell prey to a cyberattack, disrupting flights in major airports such as Heathrow in London, Brussels, and Berlin this month.