The U.K. government has confirmed it will guarantee a commercial bank loan of 1.5 billion pounds for carmaking giant Jaguar Land Rover. This decision comes after a hack forced the company to shut down its production lines, leaving many downstream suppliers at risk of bankruptcy.
In a statement, U.K. ministers said the government-backed loan will bolster the company’s cash reserves so it can support its supply chain, which has been greatly impacted by the shutdown. Jaguar Land Rover will have five years to pay back the loan.
Many companies across the U.K. that supply parts and products to Jaguar Land Rover have been affected by the weeks-long pause in vehicle production. Many of these suppliers are small businesses. The government said there are roughly 120,000 people in the broader supply chain whose jobs rely on the company’s ongoing operations.
BBC News reports that this is believed to be the first time a company has received financial assistance from the U.K. government following a cyberattack.
Jaguar Land Rover shut down its network on August 31 after detecting hackers in its system. Hackers associated with a financially motivated crime group took credit for the breach. This group has been linked to earlier hacks targeting the U.K. retail sector. The company later stated that the hackers had stolen some data from its systems. Staff were told to stay at home while the company rebuilt its network.
The company is said to have lost around 50 million pounds as a result of the shutdowns. However, it made about 2.5 billion pounds in pre-tax profit during 2024, suggesting it has the capacity to weather the financial storm.
According to industry reports, Jaguar Land Rover did not have cybersecurity insurance, which may have covered some of the costs of recovering from the breach.
Some security experts have argued that the government loan sends a signal that could encourage hackers to target U.K. organizations. They suggest that threat actors may be emboldened if they believe the government will bail out companies that have underinvested in their cybersecurity defenses.
Jaguar Land Rover, which is owned by India-headquartered Tata Motors, also faces criticism for its decision to outsource its cybersecurity teams to Tata’s IT and tech support arm, Tata Consulting Services, in the years before the cyberattack. Tata Consulting Services, which provides IT helpdesk services for companies worldwide, is also thought to have been the point of intrusion for breaches at Marks & Spencer and the Co-op. These are two other top U.K. retail giants that were hacked by the same group in recent months.
In a statement, Jaguar Land Rover said it plans to resume car production in the coming days. The carmaker has already missed several deadlines for its recovery.