Ford is trying to persuade workers to take buyout offers.

Ford is trying to persuade workers to take buyout offers.

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. has said it wants to cut its blue-collar work force by an additional 4,200 employees, according to a person briefed on a presentation to union officials.

The struggling automaker is offering buyout and early-retirement packages at manufacturing operations in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Indiana as it continues efforts to trim its factory ranks to match lower demand for its products.

Ford has declined to publicly state a target number, but Joe Hinrichs, group vice president of global manufacturing, told union officials the company has 4,200 more blue collar workers than it needs, according to the person briefed on the presentation.

The meeting with top local officials of the United Auto Workers union took place Tuesday and Wednesday, said the person, who did not want to be identified because the meeting was private. The number was reported late Wednesday by the Detroit Free Press.

Ford has set up an informational Web site, job fairs and retirement workshops in an effort to persuade workers to take buyouts or retire early. Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari would not say if the company would resort to involuntary layoffs if too few workers take this round of buyout offers.

In a video on the Web site, Hinrichs and UAW Ford Division Vice President Bob King encourage people to take the offers.

“We are expecting things to stay very difficult for the next few years,” Hinrichs says on the video, in which he talks about the declining U.S. auto market, the shift from Ford’s historic strengths of trucks and sport utility vehicles to small cars, and its market share decline.

“The result is more people than jobs,” he said.

King says on the video the union worked with the company to get the offers.

“I urge you to carefully consider these programs and your individual situation to decide what is best for you and your family,” he said. “It is our deep hope that enough people will take advantage of these programs to best match the number of available jobs to our members.”

In April, only 4,200 hourly workers accepted early-retirement or buyout packages. At the time, Ford wouldn’t say how many workers it wanted to leave, but a person with knowledge of the company’s goals told The Associated Press earlier this year the company was hoping for a minimum of 8,000 workers. The person didn’t want to be identified because the target number wasn’t officially released.

When the number fell short of Ford’s goal, the company offered more packages to workers at selected factories.