THE steady stream of shoppers at Mackinnon Mills in Coatbridge seemed unaware yesterday afternoon that factory workers in the adjoining building had just received yet more bad news about their job prospects.

Demand for their neatly displayed products has shrunk because of cheap foreign imports and the company was left with no choice but to respond, the management explained.

Six months ago, the message was the same. Almost 140 jobs would have to be cut from the workforce at Coatbridge, Lanark, and Arbroath.

Managers at the company, which had high-profile sponsorship deals with Europe's winning Ryder Cup team and golfers such as Sam Torrance, pinned the blame then on the strength of sterling and competition from abroad.

They promised, however, that a reorganisation would concentrate knitwear production on the modern Coatbridge factory and allow the Lanark site to focus on its successful golf cresting operation, as well as design and marketing functions.

It was hoped than that the reshuffle could prevent further cuts in production and manpower. But one source said even then there was a feeling that their efforts were as much ''fighting against the waves'' as paving the way for a secure future.

Yesterday's announcement was depressingly familiar: this time 120 jobs, again because of exports and the strength of the pound. The collapse of the Far Eastern economy had not helped.

Once again the focus of the reorganisation was to concentrate production at the modern Coatbridge plant. It would still lose workers but would continue operating at a reduced capacity. Glenmuir would also suffer the loss of a third of its workforce and it would no longer finish garments, but the golf crest business and distribution centre were safe and would suffer no redundancies. Some supervisory staff were also likely to be affected.

The contraction in production, the company insisted, was not terminal. And there was genuine confidence that the remaining 100 workers at Glenmuir could form part of a prosperous business, despite the fickle nature of the textile industry.

But there was a sense that it was ''fingers crossed'' for the future of the production plant at Coatbridge.

There was some hope in the assertion that changing fashions were also at the root of the problem. If consumers can on one day prefer cotton and fleece, they can in time return to the attractions of wool.

Staff at the Coatbridge site were reluctant to discuss the announcement, mindful of the fact that the threatened jobs have not yet been identified. Although the matter must now be discussed with workers and their union representatives, it is understood that the scale of the cuts will almost certainly lead to compulsory job losses.

Union leaders yesterday recognised that concern, and promised to hold talks with Government Ministers in the hope of securing a short-term aid package and look at the longer term future of the industry.

There was room for optimism, despite a steady decline in the industry since the Second World War. The contraction of the industry in Scotland during these current lean times may provide opportunities for expansion in the longer term: the loss of some businesses may give competitors a chance to move in on their share of the market.

A spokesman for Grampian Brands said: ''The management is trying to get into a position so that when things do change round we will be at the forefront of that and be in a position to increase our market share.''

Likewise, the minimum wage, likely to be set at #3.60 an hour, is not expected to cause widespread problems north of the Border.

Knitwear production in Scotland tends to be at the quality end of the market. Employees, in turn, are rewarded more generously than those working in sweat shop conditions in some parts of England.

At Grampian Brands, for instance, only four junior members of staff - out of a total workforce of 370 people - are thought to be paid less than than the recommended level of #3.60, and then only by a matter of pennies. Manufacturing workers are more likely to receive annual pay packets of around #10,000, or around #5 an hour, with the additional possibility of bonus payments.

But even the best case scenario does not paint an entirely encouraging picture.

The pound could weaken and fashions will change, but most commentators agree the industry in Scotland is unlikely to regain all the ground it has lost.

Producers continue to struggle to compete with cheap imports from third world countries, which enjoy low wage economies.

To remain competitive Scotland must invest in technological advances.

But the prospect of more machinery is unlikely to offer any comfort to the workers who now face the dole queue.