The UK government is considering buying parts from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) suppliers to protect jobs following a cyber-attack that shut down production. Business Secretary Peter Kyle is exploring options to support companies supplying the carmaker.
Under the plan, the government could buy parts from suppliers and sell them back to JLR when production resumes. The scheme is one of several being discussed, according to ITV News. JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, suffered a cyber-attack on 31 August. The attack forced production to halt across factories in the UK, Slovakia, Brazil, and India, costing the company and its suppliers hundreds of millions of pounds.
The shutdown threatens the roughly 700 UK suppliers who rely on JLR’s “just in time” production system. Some unions have called for a furlough scheme to support workers affected by the freeze. Ministers have not formally committed to financial aid for smaller suppliers, though they are reviewing multiple ways to help.
Buying parts would be technically difficult because JLR has limited warehouse space. Suppliers deliver huge volumes of parts, and storing extra inventory would require careful coordination. The plan also assumes JLR has not permanently lost sales due to the shutdown. ITV News reported that any government purchase could be “very significant.”
Kyle and Industry Minister Chris McDonald met with employees from JLR and its suppliers earlier this week. Kyle said: “Getting JLR back online as soon as possible is my top priority, providing much-needed certainty to workers and suppliers.”
JLR has reportedly paid roughly £300m to suppliers in recent days. The company is prioritizing partners under the most pressure so production can restart quickly. Around 50 employees have been reassigned to manual payment processing while regular systems remain down. Some suppliers have paused production and sent workers home due to the shutdown.
Tata, the owner of JLR, has previously received UK government support. In 2023, the Conservative government provided £500m in subsidies to Tata’s construction of a £4bn gigafactory in Somerset. Tata also owns Tata Steel, which ended primary steelmaking at Port Talbot in south Wales last year, leading to 2,500 job losses. The government contributed £500m to build a new, greener electric arc furnace at the site.
JLR faces falling profits amid US tariffs and declining sales. Underlying pre-tax profits fell 49% to £351m in the three months to June, including a temporary pause in US exports. The company also faced criticism for its Jaguar rebrand, and new electric cars are not expected to launch until next year.
Headquartered in Coventry, JLR employs 32,800 people in the UK across 17 sites. Last month, it announced PB Balaji as its new chief executive, set to take over in November. Balaji, previously group finance chief at Tata Motors, will replace Adrian Mardell, who is retiring after three years as JLR’s CEO and 35 years with the company.
