As part of the changes, according to German press reports, the current head of the Automation & Drives operation, Dr Klaus Wucherer, will not have his contract renewed when it expires next March.

Löscher (above), who was brought in to run the engineering giant from the US drugs company Merck, wants to implement his proposed changes by January. He is due to present details of his proposal to a Siemens board meeting at the end of November.

If the reorganisation goes ahead, it will mean an end to the previous division and country based structure. The heads of the three new divisions will be members of the executive board, thus centralising the running of the vast business which employs more than 450,000 people worldwide.

Löscher has replaced Klaus Kleinfeld who stepped down in April in the wake of a bribery scandal that has dogged Siemens for the past year.