The mighty auto workers union Wednesday looked set to throw its weight behind pleas from struggling car makers for a huge government bailout to save the key industry from collapse.

As the White House said it was reviewing radical restructuring plans unveiled by the Big Three automakers, the leader of the United Auto Workers union Ron Gettelfinger was to give a press conference here.

On Tuesday Ford, General Motors and Chrysler all unveiled plans for a radical restructuring and downsizing of their companies to convince Congress that with a total of 34-billion dollars in handouts they will remain viable.

GM and Chrysler warned they needed billions of dollars within a matter of weeks if they were to survive a perfect storm of a global credit crisis, falling demand for large vehicles and a global economic slump.

All three put forward plans to invest billions in advanced technology, shift their product mix towards more environmentally friendly vehicles and slash operating costs.

At stake are millions of jobs, many of them in and around Detroit, the heart of the country's car industry, but also in secondary industries around the country.

The fate of the country's key auto industry is shaping up to be the first major test of the incoming administration of president-elect Barack Obama who has warned he is not prepared to write the companies a blank check.

As the bosses of the automakers were driving to Wednesday in fuel-efficient hybrid cars for two days of hearings, Obama said he wanted to see the plans before committing himself to any bailout.

"We should maintain a viable auto industry. But we should also make sure that any government assistance ... is based on realistic assessments of what the auto market is going to be and a realistic plan for how we're going to make these companies viable over the long term," Obama told a Chicago press conference.

The current White House said Wednesday that it was reviewing the three different plans, but cautioned not to expect any decisions in the coming days.

"We're going to take some time to review the plans and listen to the testimony later this week" from the embattled giants' bosses to the US Congress, said White House spokesman Tony Fratto.

The three chief executives were turned away by lawmakers empty-handed last month, and charged with coming up with proper plans on how to reshape and revitalize their companies.

They were roundly criticized for letting their iconic brands crumble in the face of competition from foreign transplants whose US plants operate at much lower costs and failing to develop fuel-efficient small cars.

There was also anger that all three had flown to Washington for the hearings in separate corporate jets -- more proof of the excesses of the CEO lifestyle.

Under their new plans, Ford will sell its five company planes and chief executive Alan Mulally like his two counterparts in GM and Chrysler will work for a salary of one dollar a year.

Ford said Tuesday it might pull through on it its own and return to profitability by 2011 but asked for a nine billion dollar line of credit in case the economy worsens or one of its competitors goes bankrupt.

GM asked for four billion dollars this month and another 14 billion next year. Chrysler said it needed seven billion by December 31.

GM, which is considered to be at the greatest risk of collapse, offered the most radical plan Tuesday.

The company said it will reduce its US workforce by nearly a third from the current level of 96,537 people to between 65,000 and 75,000 salaried and unionized workers by 2012 and cut the number of US plants from 47 in 2008 to 38 in 2012.

The world's second largest automaker said it will also "review" the future of its Saab and Saturn brands.

The three bosses will once again face congressional hearings on Thursday and Friday. But House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that bankruptcy for US automakers "is not an option" and that a short-term loan program "is an appropriate way to go."

"I believe an intervention will happen, either from the administration or legislatively," Pelosi said.

The hearings come amid more grim news for the industry as data showed that US auto sales dropped 37 percent in November, as total US sales fell to 746,789 from nearly 1.2 million vehicles in November 2007.

"The consumer is scared and sitting on the sideline. We need appropriate economic stimulus to get the consumer back in the game," said Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of North America vehicle sales, service and marketing.