March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the automaker that lost $15.3 billion in the past two years, may cut more jobs in North America, Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said.

Mulally's comment came one day after Ford completed offering buyouts to 54,000 U.S. factory workers. Under a 2006 program, 33,600 workers took buyouts to leave the company.

``We don't have all the data yet,'' Mulally said today, referring to how many workers accepted the latest offers, at an analysts presentation in conjunction with the New York International Auto Show. ``This is just one step in the process. We have a lot of different mechanisms to right-size the place.'' He declined to provide specifics.

Ford, the world's third-largest automaker, is cutting jobs and closing plants to align production with reduced demand for its vehicles. Mulally, recruited in September 2006 from Boeing Co., has pledged to return the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker to profitability by next year.

The company is maintaining its January forecast of 15.7 million car and light-truck sales industrywide in the U.S. this year, Mulally said. J.D. Power & Associates yesterday cut its 2008 forecast to 14.95 million from 15.7 million. U.S. vehicle sales totaled 16.1 million last year.

Buyout Options

Ford offered 10 buyout options, for as much as $140,000, to entice higher-paid factory workers to exit. The company hoped to eliminate 8,000 to 9,000 jobs, a person with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg News in February.

Ford is trimming labor costs under a new four-year contract with the United Auto Workers union that allows the company to reduce wages and benefits for new hires.

Ford rose 16 cents to $5.45 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have declined 35 percent since the company announced it hired Mulally to take over from William Clay Ford Jr.

``Everyone is agonizing,'' Mulally said today of workers who considered the buyouts.

Ford expects one-time costs of as much as $1 billion this year to cut jobs, the company said in an annual U.S. regulatory filing. The cost of the buyouts will depend on how many workers take them. The company might not disclose the number of employees until next week, spokeswoman Marcey Evans said yesterday.

Message to Workers

Ford sent a last-minute message yesterday to workers concerning the offers.

``The old ways of doing business are gone,'' Joe Hinrichs, Ford's manufacturing chief, and Marty Mulloy, vice president of labor affairs, said in a commentary sent to newspapers in communities where Ford has plants. ``We must continue to downsize and simply will not have enough jobs for all of our current hourly workers.''

Mulally, 62, told analysts today that the automaker has ``the cash, we have the liquidity,'' to complete revamping North American operations.

Ford borrowed $23.4 billion in late 2006, putting up assets including its headquarters and the company's blue oval trademark, as collateral.

``I'm glad we did it when we did it,'' Mulally said today. Since then, credit markets have tightened after the effects of defaults on U.S. subprime mortgages spread through the economy.

The cost to protect Ford's bonds from default fell today, according to London-based CMA Datavision. Credit-default swaps on Ford dropped to 20.75 percent upfront and 5 percent a year, meaning it would cost $2.08 million initially and $500,000 a year to protect $10 million in debt from default for five years. That's down from 22 percent upfront and 5 percent a year yesterday.

General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. are the world's two biggest automakers by vehicle sales.

To contact the reporter of this story: Bill Koenig in Southfield, Michigan at wkoenig@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: March 19, 2008 16:17 EDT