DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) warned on Wednesday of a deeper-than-expected fourth-quarter operating loss as it grapples with fallout from its worst financial crisis in nearly a decade. The warning came as the world's second largest automaker hammers out details of a restructuring plan, due to be unveiled in January, that industry analysts expect to include massive job cuts and the possible idling of some assembly plants as part of an effort to bring Ford's costs into line with its diminished market share. With its fourth-quarter loss, Ford will face a situation for the first time since 1992 in which it reports three consecutive quarterly losses. The automaker posted a combined total of $1.4 billion in losses in the second and third quarters. In October, Ford said it expected to report better financial results for the final three months of 2001 than the operating loss of 28 cents a share -- or $502 million -- that it posted in the third quarter.