Does Tata Motors-owned JLR need more govt help after £1.5bn loan guarantee? This UK MP thinks so

A senior UK lawmaker has warned that more government support for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and its suppliers may be needed despite a £1.5 billion loan guarantee announced over the weekend to help the carmaker recover from a crippling cyber-attack.

Liam Byrne, a Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North and chair of the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee, said “further intervention” could not be ruled out as the production shutdown enters its fourth week.

“It could well be that there are other instruments needed – something like a Covid-style loan, for example, may be needed for some suppliers, but we've got to make sure this first big loan package is put to work first,” Byrne told BBC Radio 4.

The British government on Sunday said it would guarantee a commercial bank loan of up to £1.5 billion for JLR under its Export Development Guarantee scheme, to be repaid over five years.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the move was designed to protect jobs and stabilise the company’s supply network after the cyber-attack forced JLR to halt production at its UK plants earlier this month.

“This cyber-attack was not only an assault on an iconic British brand, but on our world-leading automotive sector and the men and women whose livelihoods depend on it,” Kyle said.

“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,” he added.

JLR employs about 34,000 people in Britain and supports a supply chain of around 120,000 workers, many in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Production at sites in Solihull and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and Halewood in Merseyside is not expected to resume until at least Oct. 1.

The Tata Motors-owned automaker said it is working to clear a backlog of supplier payments and has begun a phased restart of its digital systems, but warned that normal operations remain weeks away.