Opponents have criticised Swinney’s remarks and urged him to be clearer on how the plans would work.
Scottish Labour’s acting leader Jackie Baillie said “It’s hard to tell whether John Swinney is being evasive or simply has no idea what he is going to do, but either way it’s not good enough.
“People’s jobs are on the line and our public services could be plunged into chaos – Scotland deserves to know what lies ahead.
“The SNP must come clean about what it is planning, how many jobs are at risk and what it will mean for our public services.”
Scottish Conservative finance and social security spokesman Craig Hoy said: “John Swinney was asked a basic question about his own plans and repeatedly refused to answer it.
“He cannot say how many NHS jobs could be lost yet expects Scots to believe he has a grip on the SNP’s £5bn budget black hole.
“This is a first minister completely out of his depth, trying to bluff his way through the mounting financial chaos his party has created.”
Reform UK Scotland leader Malcolm Offord accused Swinney of trying to dodge the question of job cuts with “word salad” answers.
He told The Sunday Show: “What I’m surprised to hear is that a government that has been in situ for 19 years still cannot put names and numbers around the reorganisation.”