When Ford Motor Company took stock of its current 60-year-old global headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, it became clear that the only way forward for the company and the culture would be to take a big leap and launch two new high-tech campuses.
Announced in 2016, the company committed an estimated $1.2 billion to a ten-year project which will move 30,000 employees from 70 buildings into a Product Campus and a Headquarters Campus.
The new campuses are part of a future that will see the Ford Smart Mobility plan executed.
The plan aims to integrate connectivity, mobility, technology, customer experience, and big data. Everything from rapid charging and car-sharing, big-data collection, and a car-swap program as well as autonomous vehicles, on-demand shuttles, and eBikes.
Ford also is spending $740 million on a project to revamp the Michigan Central Station, Detroit’s beloved historic but dilapidated former rail station, as well as other neighborhood sites, especially Corktown.
Acquired in June 2018, the station and several nearby properties that Ford now owns will anchor a 1.2 million-square-foot innovation hub that draws on talent at Ford and beyond.
The company sees the Corktown developments, along with Ford’s transformation of its Dearborn campuses as the vehicle to create a mobility corridor that will drive the future of transportation.
Ford also announced it is investing more than $1.45 billion in two southeast Michigan manufacturing facilities and adding 3,000 new jobs to strengthen its leadership in trucks and SUVs and support the company’s expansion into electric and autonomous vehicles.
At 199,000 employees and 67 plants spread across the globe, Ford's transformation and commitment to the future of mobility will be no small task.
With these new bold campuses and big bets on the future, Ford has shown that it is building a new corporate mindset that is going to be critical as the company enters its next 100 years.
Ford Motor Company: New bold campuses and big bets on the future
