MAJOR JOB cuts are planned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) in a bid to save £3 million, after recent years have seen the charity hit by financial losses and poor visitor numbers.

In a statement given to the Sunday Herald, NTS officials said they were at the "early stages of a reorganisation and a review of operations" and that the cuts were necessary to ensure a "sustainable future". It added that as staff costs represent half of total costs, then staff numbers would have to be reduced.

"The trust has begun consultation on the reorganisation but cannot provide an exact number that are likely to be affected. We've indicated to staff that the overall number is likely to be 60 to 80."

This represents almost one in six of the 500 NTS employees.

The news comes after a difficult time for the trust, which has been beset with problems. Former chief executive Robin Pellew warned on his departure in February last year that the trust was "well behind budget" and "some very tough decisions" would have to be made.

One senior source within the NTS said he believed Pellew's replacement Mark Adderley, a former Scottish Water director of human resources and business services, had been brought in as a "hatchet man" to make the cuts.

Sources added that although the cost-saving was necessary due to the financial situation, the cuts would be met with opposition and staff unions were likely to become involved.

The NTS, Scotland's largest conservation charity, protects and promotes the country's natural and cultural heritage. It has guardianship of more than 128 sites, including mountains, battlefields and properties, including Pollok House in Glasgow and Falkland Palace in Fife.

It is no secret the trust has been facing tough times. Figures for 2005/06 revealed an annual loss of £1.2m. Visitor numbers had also dropped by 11,000, although membership grew to nearly 300,000.

A study published last year showed Culzean Castle in Ayrshire was the only NTS property in a survey of Scotland's most-visited sites in 2005. The trust's overall share of the visitor market for the year was put at just 3.17%, with almost half of the NTS's 58 properties receiving fewer than 10,000 visitors.

Former NTS head of corporate communications Alan Smart said the cuts came as little surprise. He said: "The only redundancies I would recommend are for the entire senior management. I think they were grossly negligent in 2006 and they should have believed in their 2005 strategy - speculate to accumulate. Then they go to a 100% reverse strategy in 2006 and both fail.

"The reason they have a £3m cumulative deficit is because the last three to four years have been quite disastrous. It's as if they are putting pins in a map, trying lots of different things. How these people are all still there I don't know."

One NTS source said there were fears some of the rented properties safeguarded by the charity would have to be sold off. Staff are also anxious about compulsory redundancies being made.

Conservationist Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland, said his "sympathies" were with the NTS.

"To me they are a modern policy of force but perhaps trapped by their past into budget problems," he said.

"It's an organisation that has a lot of property, which costs lots of money to look after. In a changing world it's going to have to change, and occasionally there will be painful moments when it hasn't managed to catch up."

Dr Susan Buckham, director of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, said: "The trust plays a crucial role as guardian of Scotland's heritage and property in its care, which includes some of the finest architecture and landscapes in Scotland. We'd be concerned if it wasn't able to continue the strength of the role it currently possesses. That would be a matter of concern for everybody."