(Adds Temer's comments in television interview)
By Alonso Soto and Lisandra Paraguassu
BRASILIA, April 17 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Michel Temer said on Monday some of his cabinet ministers are likely to resign after being placed under investigation in a massive corruption probe, as he seeks to draw a line under a scandal threatening his sweeping fiscal reforms.
Last week a Supreme Court justice opened investigations into eight ministers - nearly a third of Temer's cabinet - after they were accused of wrongdoing by executives of engineering group Odebrecht SA in plea bargain testimonies.
The ministers under investigation include close advisers such as Temer's chief of staff Eliseu Padilha, considered key to negotiations on a landmark pension reform to rein in government spending and runaway public debt.
Temer said in a radio interview that the corruption scandal is "embarrassing" and may lead some ministers to step down.
"It is very likely that some ministers will feel uncomfortable and believe that they cannot continue," Temer said, adding that his administration "will not stop."
Temer has previously said he would suspend any ministers charged with corruption and dismiss those who are indicted in the country's biggest-ever graft scandal, which has hung over his efforts to end Brazil's worst recession in over a century.
The president himself was accused in testimony made public last week of presiding over a meeting in 2010 in which an Odebrecht executive was asked to arrange an illegal payment of $40 million to his political party.
Temer has temporary immunity from investigations regarding events before his mandate began in May 2016. He and his ministers have denied any wrongdoing.
LIKELY COMPROMISES
Lawmakers who attended a meeting with Temer on Sunday said he was sticking with his plans to push the pension overhaul through Congress by July.
With a third of the Senate and dozens of representatives coming under investigation last week, however, some observers see Congress as increasingly sensitive to popular opinion ahead of their re-election campaigns next year.
The proposed pension reform is a cornerstone of Temer's plan to restore fiscal discipline and bolster investor confidence to spark a recovery, but it remains unpopular among Brazilians, many of whom would have to work longer before retirement.
Temer's government is expected to soften some of the more stringent aspects of its initial proposal to win over lawmakers on the fence.
The president originally said he was setting out to solve the pension system's deficit over the next three or four decades, but on Monday he conceded Brazil may need another pension reform in 10 or 15 years.