The government is examining plans to buy parts from Jaguar Land Rover’s suppliers in an attempt to protect thousands of jobs threatened by the carmaker’s prolonged shutdown following a major cyber-attack.
Business secretary Peter Kyle is considering a scheme in which the government would purchase components from suppliers and later sell them back to JLR once its factories resume production, according to ITV News. The proposal is one of several emergency measures under review, though no decision has yet been taken.
Impact of the shutdown
JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, was hit by a cyber-attack on 31 August. The incident has forced the company to halt production across its plants in the UK, Slovakia, Brazil and India, with the shutdown expected to continue into October.
The freeze has already cost JLR and its network of around 700 direct suppliers hundreds of millions of pounds. Many of those firms, dependent on “just in time” manufacturing schedules, are now facing acute financial pressure.
Unions have called for a furlough-style scheme to protect workers at risk of redundancy, while ministers are said to be exploring short-term financial support.
Challenges of a parts-buying plan
A government-backed purchase of supplier parts would be logistically complex. JLR has limited warehouse capacity, and volumes of parts are significant. The idea also rests on the assumption that lost sales during the shutdown can be recovered once production restarts.
ITV News reported that such a scheme could involve “very significant” sums of money.
JLR response and supplier strain
The carmaker has already paid around £300m to its partners in recent days, prioritising the most vulnerable suppliers. According to Bloomberg, about 50 JLR employees have been reassigned to manually process payments while IT systems remain down.
Despite these efforts, some suppliers have paused production and sent staff home. The disruption has reignited concerns over the fragility of supply chains that underpin the UK’s automotive sector.
Political and financial backdrop
The crisis comes after years of substantial UK taxpayer support for Tata-owned businesses. In 2023, the government committed £500m towards Tata’s £4bn gigafactory project in Somerset, and a similar sum to help fund a greener electric arc furnace at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot site, where 2,500 jobs were lost.
Meanwhile, JLR has faced financial headwinds. Its pre-tax profits halved to £351m in the three months to June amid declining sales and US tariffs. The company’s rebrand of Jaguar drew criticism last year, and its new electric vehicles are not expected until 2025.
Leadership change ahead
The company, headquartered in Coventry and employing 32,800 people across 17 UK sites, is preparing for a change at the top. PB Balaji, Tata Motors’ group finance chief, will replace Adrian Mardell as JLR’s chief executive in November.
Kyle said this week: “Getting JLR back online as soon as possible is my top priority, providing much-needed certainty to workers and suppliers.”
JLR has not yet commented publicly on the government’s discussions.
