In total Newsquest Glasgow employs just under 700 members of staff across its three titles - The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times - and the company made a profit last year of £23.8m according to an insider at Gannett.

By comparison, Gannett has 46,100 employees in the US alone and made a profit of £500m last year, which works out to £10,850 profit per employee.

Newsquest UK has some 7,100 employees in total and made a profit of £89m last year, which equates to £12,500 per employee.

The announcement has stunned Scotland's media community and First Minister Alex Salmond has also stepped into the row, condemning the move by Newsquest in Glasgow to make 250 staff redundant and ask them all the re-apply for around 210 jobs that will remain in the merged team.

The First Minister said: "If this was happening in another employer in Scotland, if an approach was being taken to make an entire workforce redundant and then to ask people to re-apply for their jobs, what we would imagine that the editorial stance of the Herald newspaper - in its traditions - would be?

"If we imagine, as I would, that in terms of the tradition of that newspaper, they would appeal for exactly what Pauline McNeill has put forward, then I think the owners of the Herald group should think carefully about the credibility of the newspaper given the actions and style that they've adopted." 

In a statement issued by Newsquest Glasgow, managing director Tim Blott, said: "We are creating an efficient operation fit for the 21st century which will provide even more compelling and unique content for readers of all three titles and our web sites.

"We are committed to producing vibrant and relevant newspapers and web sites and see a bright future for The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times and their digital versions. A strong indigenous press is vital for diversity of opinion and democracy in Scotland," he said.