Washington - Ford Motor Co on Friday reported a third- quarter operating loss of 2.98 billion dollars and said it would cut jobs and spending to preserve its perilous cash reserves.

One of the US' "Big Three" automakers, Ford said it used up 7.7 billion dollars in cash as revenues plunged.

The losses reported by Ford, the second-largest US automaker, are likely to be reflected by General Motors Corp, which also reports its third-quarter results Friday.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally remained confident that they could reverse the sharp downturn, but warned it would take some time, projecting continued weak sales in North America and Europe.

"We believe the downturn in industry volume will be broader, deeper and longer than previously expected," he said, adding that sales volumes aren't expected to improve until 2010.

Ford said it aimed to boost its cash reserves by 17 billion dollars by the end of 2010, a move that would include cutting annual capital spending of 1 billion dollars.

This quarter, the company fired 1,500 salaried employees to help slice off at least 15 per cent of its costs for its North America work force. In the second quarter, it cut 200 salaried jobs. There were 2,600 third-quarter buyouts for US factory workers.

Chief executives of the ailing "Big Three" US automakers - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - met Thursday with two top Congressional leaders to discuss a further bail-out package and the future of the loss-making industry.

US auto sales plummeted 32 per cent in October to the lowest monthly total since 1991. (dpa)