A flagship daily title is facing the threat of strike action as it gears up for a major print and online relaunch this week.

The Scotsman is to unveil a new look to both the newspaper and its compansion website tomorrow in a bid to reinforce its branding as “Scotland’s national newspaper.”

Bosses at the Johnston Press title are promising a mix of “traditional and contemporary” with an increased focus on content designed to appeal to readers across the whole of Scotland.

There will also be a “subtle tweak” the paper’s masthead and changes to the layout.

However the plans have coincided with the announcement of a fresh round of job cuts at the title, with 12 of the 32 production staff at the Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday, the Edinburgh Evening News said to be at risk.

The Scotsman’s National Union of Journalists chapel is to hold a ballot on whether to take some form of industrial action over the cuts which were announced to staff on Friday.

Mother-of-chapel Kayt Turner said:  “The NUJ chapel are frankly furious at this latest round of planned redundancies. We had only just entered into talks to work on resolving the intolerable workloads that our members are facing as well as working towards rewarding staff who have taken on additional responsibilities since the last reorganisation.

“It is the long standing position of this chapel that any threat of compulsory redundancy triggers an automatic ballot for industrial action. We have immediately entered into this process.”

A JP spokeswoman said:  “Johnston Press, like all news organisations, has to evolve and adapt to meet the demands of an ever-changing media landscape.

“Ensuring sustainable growth – and a viable future for this industry – means that restructuring and reshaping the company in line with those business needs is inevitable.

Editor Ian Stewart said: “Our title is part of the fabric of Scotland and never has it been more important to be at the very heart of what’s going on – fuelling passion whilst driving discussion and debate.

“We will always reflect what our existing readers want, and produce products that are at the forefront of the industry, adapting  and evolving The Scotsman to ensure we not only stay true to its unique identity but deliver a world-class title – online and in print – that is worthy of the incredible country it serves.”

The redesign at the 198-year-old title will herald similar changes at other JP titles over the coming months.

It will be supported by an advertising campaign which JP says will be “designed to capture Scotland’s dynamism whilst heralding the brand’s new look and feel.”