Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the world's third- largest automaker, may eliminate as many as 9,000 more U.S. factory jobs through its latest buyout offers, a person with direct knowledge of the situation said.

The cuts would be in addition to the 33,600 union workers who left through buyouts and early retirements in 2006 and 2007, when Ford lost a combined $15.3 billion. Further reductions may help Ford restore profit by speeding the hiring of new workers who would be paid about half as much as current employees.

``These are realistic numbers,'' said Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California at Berkeley. ``Workers are reassessing their options. It is a very tough choice.''

The target range of 8,000 to 9,000 jobs would be as much as 14 percent of Ford's North American factory workforce. The automaker doesn't have an estimate on how many employees will accept the buyouts, and it won't limit the number who leave should the total exceed its goal, the person said.

Marcey Evans, a spokeswoman for Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford, declined to comment. Roger Kerson, a spokesman for the United Auto Workers union, didn't return telephone messages. The Detroit Free Press reported Feb. 9 that Ford had an internal target of 8,000, citing people familiar with the objective.

Ford's employment fell to 64,000 at the end of last year at North American plants from 99,500 two years earlier. That decline includes the 33,600 UAW-represented jobs shed through the buyout and retirement offers.

New Contract

Ford and the UAW in November agreed on a contract that permits the company to pay lower wages for new hires while keeping open five factories targeted for closure. Under the four-year agreement, Ford can pay up to 20 percent of its U.S. factory workers the reduced wage.

Under the accord, Ford's hourly costs for new workers will be $26 to $31, or about half the $60 expense for a current UAW member's wages and benefits.

Before any new, lower-paid workers can be hired, Ford must resolve the fate of workers at closed factories and at its Automotive Components Holdings unit. Automotive Components includes factories Ford took back from former parts subsidiary Visteon Corp. Most of those plants are being closed or sold, and some of the UAW-represented employees may go to Ford plants.

UAW workers at Automotive Components are eligible for buyouts. The outcome of the buyout program will determine how many of those employees are reassigned to Ford factories.

Ford has about 54,000 UAW-represented employees, with about 12,000 eligible to retire.

Savings

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger last month estimated that new contracts at Ford, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC will save the automakers ``somewhere in the neighborhood'' of $1,000 per vehicle. Buyouts of higher paid workers will help Ford increase the number of new hires at lower wage levels.

Ford hopes to reach the 9,000 target through offers pending at four closed U.S. plants that will be broadened to other U.S. factories next week.

Workers at St. Louis; Edison, New Jersey; Norfolk, Virginia; and Atlanta began considering buyouts Jan. 22 and have a ``buyout window'' running through Feb. 28, Ford said Jan. 24 when it released 2007 year-end earnings. Workers from that group who accept buyouts are to leave the company by March 1.

Workers at those sites are being offered buyouts or relocation to other Ford plants. Workers who don't accept either choice will be placed on a ``no-pay, no-benefit leave,'' Ford's Evans said. That leave would last as long as their employment with Ford, she said.

Buyout Season

UAW-represented employees at all other Ford U.S. plants will begin considering buyouts Feb. 18 through the week of March 17.

The buyout offers are similar to those made in 2006 to all UAW-represented employees at Ford. At that time, Ford had eight offers, running for as much as $140,000.

Some of the offers have been raised. Ford in 2006 had offered $35,000 for workers who retired with benefits. With the new offers, skilled-trades employees would receive $70,000 while other factory workers would receive $50,000, Evans said.

Ford increased 31 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $6.39 at 4:21 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have declined 27 percent in the past 12 months.

Ford's 7.45 percent bond due July 2031 was unchanged at 72.06 cents on the dollar, yielding 10.73 percent, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the NASD.

Credit-default swaps tied to Ford debt rose 13 basis points to 976 basis points, according to CMA Datavision in New York. The contracts are designed to protect bondholders against default. An increase in the price indicates a decline in the perception of a company's credit quality.

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

Last Updated: February 11, 2008 17:07 EST