The U.K. government has confirmed it will guarantee a commercial bank loan of £1.5 billion ($2 billion) for car-making giant Jaguar Land Rover after a hack forced the company to shut down its production lines and left downstream suppliers at risk of bankruptcy.
In a statement on Sunday, U.K. ministers said that the government-backed loan will “bolster JLR’s cash reserves so it can support its supply chain which has been greatly impacted by the shutdown.”
JLR will have five years to pay back the loan.
Companies across the U.K. that supply parts and products to JLR, many of which are small businesses, have been affected by the company’s weeks-long pause in vehicle production. The U.K. government said there are roughly 120,000 people in the broader supply chain whose jobs and work rely on JLR’s ongoing operations.
BBC News reports that it is believed that this is the first time that a company has received financial assistance from the U.K. government following a cyberattack.
