Munich  - German electronics giant Siemens AG could face industrial action as the group prepared Tuesday to unveil a tough restructuring plan aimed at slashing 17,000 jobs worldwide.

The announcement by Siemens chief Peter Loescher that the Munich- based group proposes to cut 4 per cent of the group's global 435,000- strong workforce comes as the company struggles to lay aside a far- reaching corruption scandal.

The allegations of corruption, which have rocked the more than 160-year-old company, have already led to several resignations among top management, including former chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld.

Loescher's drive to trim the workforce is aimed at shoring up Siemens' profitability through a 1.2-billion-euros (1.9-billion- dollars) cut in overheads over the next two year in the face of rising transport and energy costs.

The restructuring comes against a backdrop of growing economic uncertainty amid concerns about spiralling energy and commodity prices and the fallout from the US mortgage market crisis.

After talks with the company, Siemens union leader Werner Moenius told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the job cuts would be as "high as feared." Unions have warned of strike action in the face of a reduction of 6,400 in the domestic workforce.

Shortly after taking over from Kleinfeld, Loescher announced plans to improve the company's corporate structure by splitting the group into three divisions.

He said the job cuts to be detailed Tuesday would be aimed at middle and senior management ranks. However, Moenius questioned whether the cuts would fall exclusively on the upper echelons of management.

Last week Moenius described the plans as "a catastrophe," adding that they had "dropped like a bomb" and warned that that industrial action might be necessary. (dpa)