MP MATT Western has welcomed government plans to guarantee a loan for Jaguar Land Rover, as the company begins a partial restart of production after a cyber attack.
The government has announced it will provide the Gaydon-based car manufacturer with a loan guarantee expected to unlock £1.5 billion of support for its supply chain.
It will now begin a ‘controlled phased restart’ of its operations.
Mr Western said: “It is really encouraging to hear that the company is restarting its manufacturing operations.
“JLR was enjoying an exceptionally successful year in the run up to September and this attack has been a major set-back.”
The local MP has repeatedly stressed the importance of government intervention for JLR’s supply chain. He was joined by other West Midlands MPs in calling for decisive action to safeguard the UK’s automotive sector.
Mr Western continued that the government must ensure that its package of support is filtered down beyond tier one to the smaller suppliers to ensure continuity and preserve the businesses and jobs.
The loan guarantee, backed by UK Export Finance, is expected to unlock up to £1.5 billion in private finance to stabilise JLR’s operations and protect jobs across the West Midlands, Merseyside, and beyond.
Since production at JLR came to a halt at the end of August, the company has lost almost £50 million per week, while the knock-on effects of this disruption have been extensive.
More than 34,000 people are directly employed by JLR in the UK, many of whom work at manufacturing sites in the West Midlands. In addition, JLR operates the largest supply chain in the UK’s automotive sector and employs around 120,00 people.
Mr Western added: “This intervention is welcome and necessary. But we must go further.
“The cyber-attack has exposed vulnerabilities in our industrial resilience. I will continue pressing the government to ensure long-term investment in digital security, infrastructure, and skills to future-proof our automotive sector.”
