Munich : Siemens, the German engineering group, confirmed Wednesday plans to dispose of a transportation-division plant that employs 950 people in the Czech Republic, but said it hopes to find a buyer rather than close the site.

The components plant in Prague was earmarked for disposal as part of a scheme to save German jobs during the current job-cutting drive at the Munich-based group, which seeks to shrink its workforce while keeping the same volume of business.

Siemens said the site makes components for the group's high-speed Velaro trains, known in Germany as inter-city expresses (ICE), and for slower passenger trains.

In Erlangen, Germany, the Mobility division chief executive Hans-Joerg Grundmann said, "We have very highly trained specialists in Prague and can contemplate selling the plant to a reputable company."

He said no German sites would be sold. Siemens promised this to German labour unions on Monday, but told them it would scrap 850 jobs in Germany and Austria as part of the transportation division's payroll reduction by 1,800. The rest would be eliminated in Prague.

On its website, the Siemens Group says it is the second largest exporter in the Czech Republic and has a national workforce of 12,000, the seventh largest employer in the country.

The whole of Siemens Group plans to reduce its workforce round the world by nearly 17,000. German trade unions have mounted fierce opposition.

Major Siemens rail products include electric locomotives, mass- transit electric trains for cities and trams. dpa