NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A top United Auto Workers official said the union is ready to help solve the "crisis" at Ford Motor Co., according to a published report.

The Detroit News reported that Bob King, UAW vice president in charge of the union's Ford (Charts) division, said Monday that the union would not rule out discussing more buyouts and other cost-cutting moves in order to stem losses at the nation's No. 2 automaker.

The Ford plant in Wixom, Mich., one of 14 the automaker plans to close. A top official with the UAW says the union is willing to do more to help trim the company's losses.

"We're open to whatever helps the company and protects our members," the newspaper reported King saying at a conference hosted by investment bank J.P. Morgan in Dearborn, Mich.

The union has already agreed to changes in health care coverage at General Motors (Charts) and Ford as those automakers tried to close the cost disadvantage they faced compared with Japanese automakers.

Ford, which has announced plans to close 14 plants and cut 30,000 workers in coming years, has had 3,400 unionized workers accept offers to leave the company or relocate, and it is preparing to make offers to another 4,100 workers.

But unlike GM, which negotiated a sweeping set of retirement incentives or severance packages that were accepted by nearly 35,000 union members at the automaker, Ford has been negotiating deals on a plant-by-plant basis.

King suggested the UAW may be willing to come to the table again to help Ford after the automaker saw its U.S. sales fall behind Toyota Motor (Charts) for the first time in July, and reported a much-larger-than-expected second-quarter loss, as well as a weak outlook.

The company has also hired a mergers and acquisitions expert to explore strategic alternatives.

"We understand the crisis at Ford," King was quoted as saying, adding, "We have to be far more aggressive in finding a solution."

Ford eyeing deeper job cuts?

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