BELEAGUERED Jaguar Land Rover was showered with warm words by Lord Mandelson yesterday – but there was no sign of hard cash on the way as the company announced 450 job cuts.

Giving evidence to a committee of MPs, the Business Secretary praised the company’s “very strong” record of investment in new, green technologies – promising that would not be allowed to “go to the wind”.

And he revealed he would meet JLR bosses again later this month to discuss “what appropriate help and interventions we can provide”.

JLR said the cuts will be spread across its three manufacturing plants in the West Midlands and Halewood, its Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire and an engineering plant in Coventry.

The company employs 2,200 on Merseyside at its Halewood base – plus 13,000 in the Midlands – and the Daily Post is currently campaigning for the Government to give a loan or loan guarantee to help JLR brave the recession.

Executives said no bonuses will be paid to managers this year and their pay review will be postponed until October, 2009.

A spokeswoman said there were no targets for individual sites and the company hoped to achieve as many cuts as possible through voluntary redundancies.

When in Liverpool last week, Lord Mandelson indicated that some “restructuring” would be needed if the Government were to end up offering help.

Yesterday, he made clear the limits of government intervention, telling MPs: “They are facing a serious loss of demand which, in the opinion of some in the industry, will not be restored.”

The appearance, before the all- party business select committee, came just minutes after Lord Mandelson unveiled his aid package for credit-starved firms.