The government will underwrite a £1.5bn loan guarantee to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) after a mass cyber attack forced a shutdown.
According to Sky News, JLR suspended production at its UK factories following the cyber attack on 31 August. The shutdown is expected to last until 1 October, leaving the largest UK carmaker's suppliers in limbo.
The loan is expected to give suppliers some certainty amid the continued shutdown, as the £1.5bn will help bolster JLR's cash reserves as it pays back companies in its supply chain.
The government will give its backing to the loan through the Export Development Guarantee (EDG), a financial support mechanism aimed at helping British companies that sell their goods overseas.
The £1.5bn loan, from a commercial bank, will be paid back over five years.
"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," Business Secretary Peter Kyle said.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves added, "Jaguar Land Rover is an iconic British company which employs tens of thousands of people - a jewel in the crown of our economy.”
As a result of the attack, production was halted across the car-making supply chain, with thousands of staff off work.
More than 33,000 people work directly for JLR in the UK, many of them on assembly lines in the West Midlands, the largest of which is in Solihull, and a plant at Halewood on Merseyside.
