Warwick and Leamington MP welcomes £1.5bn Government loan for JLR after cyber attack
Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western has welcomed the UK Government’s announcement that it will will underwrite a £1.5bn loan guarantee to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in a bid to support its suppliers as a cyber-attack continues to halt production at the car maker.
Last week, Mr Western urged the Government to take action following a cyber incident at the major Warwickshire employer.
In response to the announcement on the issue, Mr Western said: “This is excellent news for our towns, our region and the country.
"Locally people will know that I’ve been particularly vocal in my demands for support to JLR and its supply chain.
"This isn’t an abstract thing - this is about real jobs in the company, its suppliers and all the businesses that thrive from the prosperity they provide - from local shops to cafes, bars to solicitors.
"This is an economic lifeline for our towns.
"Providing a loan guarantee of up to £1.5 billion is a massive commitment and vote of confidence in the company to ensure there is resilience in the supply chain that includes around 150,000 jobs.
"The Government has worked tirelessly these past weeks to understand the needs of JLR at a time of considerable uncertainty resulting from the cyber attack it suffered a month ago.
“Huge credit and thanks to Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Secretary of State (Business and Trade) Peter Kyle for bringing forward this support.”
About 30,000 people are directly employed at the company's UK plants with about 100,000 working for firms in the supply chain.
Some of these firms supply parts exclusively to JLR, while others sell components to other carmakers as well.