The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has unveiled a series of cost-cutting measures that it says are required to ensure the organisation is best placed to deliver its strategic plan for 2009.

NTS hopes to achieve as many cost reductions as possible through natural wastage and a voluntary redundancy programme, although it expects that as many as 91 full-time jobs could be lost over the course of the year. Seasonal recruitment will also be put on hold at the trust's properties as part of the measures to streamline the organisation, which is expected to affect all areas of its operations.

Kate Mavor, NTS chief executive, said: "Like most organisations, the trust has been considerably affected by the recession and we accept we have to respond to the economic conditions by making these cost savings. "The proposed job losses are very regrettable but as staffing accounts for 50 per cent of our operating expenditure, we must inevitably face the prospect of redundancies."