Johnston Press to merge Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and Edinburgh Evening News with 45 jobs thought to be at risk

Johnston Press is to merge the Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and Edinburgh Evening News with 45 jobs said to be at risk.

The restructure will see Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday editor Ian Stewart take on the role of editorial director of parent company, The Scotsman Publications Ltd.

Edinburgh Evening News editor Frank O’Donnell, meanwhile, will become managing editor of the paper.

The merger is set to take effect in March next year and up to 45 jobs are understood to be at risk.

A Johnston Press statement said the merger “follows a detailed review of how to create one single editorial team to best serve the communities in the region whilst maintaining the identity of each title”.

It said: “They will continue to operate as three individual brands."

“This one team model will enable our editorial team members to work across different titles, delivering quality content and reducing duplication of effort as a result,” said Stewart.

“The measures being outlined – which include the opportunity for editorial team members to apply for voluntary redundancy – are proposals at this stage and there will be a full consultation period before final decisions are made.”

The statement added: “Where appropriate, the company is engaging with relevant union representatives and we will continue to offer the necessary support to those affected throughout this period.”

Stewart said: “The combined teams will have a clear focus on putting digital at the heart of the newsroom to ensure the three titles continue to meet the changing needs of our audience.”