WRAPUP 7-GM, Ford losses worse than expected, burning cash

* GM, Ford post deeper-than-expect losses

* U.S. automakers' cash burn accelerating

* GM indicates no longer interested in Chrysler deal

* Toyota slashes profit target for year

* GM shares fall 13 pct, Ford down 2.5 pct (Adds quotes)

By Kevin Krolicki and David Bailey

DETROIT, Nov 7 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N) reported far deeper-than-expected quarterly losses on Friday and said their rate of cash burn had accelerated, as an extended slump in car sales raised questions about the future of the U.S. auto industry.

Both companies said they would take aggressive steps to cut their costs even further. The two largest U.S. automakers reported third-quarter results after the world's No. 1 automaker, Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) of Japan, slashed its profit forecast for the year. [ID:nT56568]

GM's shares tumbled 13 percent and Ford's 2.5 percent. The two collectively burned through $14.6 billion in cash in the quarter as they ran up bills related to restructuring actions and as they face a deepening global financial crisis. Chrysler LLC is also burning through cash quickly, sources said.

GM also indicated it had set aside consideration of an acquisition of smaller rival Chrysler -- without mentioning the company's name -- saying it was focused on cost-cutting and other steps to free up $20 billion in liquidity through 2009.

"It offered significant synergies we felt, but the fact is those synergies tended to come in the medium and long term," GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said in an interview with CNBC business television. "The issue in short-term liquidity is the state of the auto industry and so we said we're going to put all our efforts on focusing on that issue for now."

Chrysler declined to confirm having talked with GM.

The news came the day after the heads of Ford, Chrysler and GM -- once called the Big Three, due to their dominance of the industry -- as well as the head of the United Auto Workers union went to the U.S. Congress seeking $50 billion in federal aid to help them ride out the crisis. [ID:nN06543827]

"Today's deeper-than-expected quarterly loss at GM accelerates the need for government help for the sector," said Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group, of Greenwich, Connecticut.

HEFTY LOSSES, BURNING CASH

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, reported a $4.2 billion quarterly loss and said it would cut white-collar jobs and slash next year's capital spending budget by $2.5 billion to try to cope with a sharp sales slowdown. [ID:nN07387774]