Ford Motor Co.’s new headquarters, which represents the automaker's initial headquarters relocation since Dwight Eisenhower's presidency, is twice the size of its former location, accommodating double the number of staff.
TL;DR
- Ford's new 2.1 million sq ft HQ, Ford World Headquarters, is its first in 70 years.
- The impressive new HQ features a showroom resembling a "James Bond villain's lair."
- It aims to foster teamwork and attract tech talent, unlike the former "Glass House."
- Ford plans to complete its relocation to Dearborn, Michigan by 2027.
The new headquarters features seven eateries within a 160,000-square-foot (14,864 sq m) food hall, alongside office areas, design workshops, and manufacturing facilities.
And, of course, cars.
The “crown jewel” at Ford's corporate offices serves as a showcase, described by Ford Land's global director of design and branding as akin to a “James Bond villain’s lair.”
“But it is impressive. When you’re in it, you feel like you are in the center of automotive design,” Jennifer Kolstad said this past week, after leading a media tour of the new 2.1 million square-foot (195,096 square-meter) HQ.
“Its principal function is decision-making,” she said. “It’s where we showcase our new product, and our executives make decisions about what we will take to market.”
Ford is moving its headquarters for the first time in seven decades, relocating to the newly constructed building three miles (4.8 kilometers) away in its longtime home of Dearborn, Michigan.
The new structure is being called “Ford World Headquarters.” It is part of a larger campus that will take the name of the current HQ: Henry Ford II World Center. Henry Ford II was the grandson of company founder Henry Ford and the uncle of Bill Ford, the automaker’s executive chairman.
Ford's present headquarters, identified as “The Glass House,” and established in 1956, is slated for demolition. The automaker, which has been in operation for 122 years, anticipates finishing its relocation by 2027. The expense associated with this undertaking remains undisclosed.
Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, stated “Ford wants a new headquarters building that reflects who they think they are and who they want to be going forward. They don’t want to viewed as the car company from yesterday. They want to be viewed as a car company for tomorrow,”. “And they need to attract new kinds of employees. They’re competing for software engineers, AI experts. Every company on the planet wants the same people. Those people are used to working in new, very cool offices.”
Ford not only is focusing on modern amenities in its new home, it also is prioritizing proximity.
Once the new headquarters is completely operational in two years, it's projected to house over 14,000 employees within a seven-minute stroll and an additional 9,000 within a nine-minute commute by car, according to Jim Dobleske, CEO of Ford Land.
In contrast to The Glass House, where management and staff were kept apart, the new corporate building aims to foster improved teamwork and cooperation.
“(Ford CEO) Jim Farley has said in the past: ‘When you walk into our existing headquarters building, you’re not quite sure if you’re walking into Ford or if you’re walking into a shampoo company,’” Dobleske said. “This building, you know you are walking into Ford Motor Company.”
Inside the new headquarters, some employees have already begun working, as it will host a grand-opening celebration this coming Sunday.
General Motors also is in the midst of a headquarters move, departing its Renaissance Center home in Detroit for a new downtown office building.
Gordon, the Michigan business professor, said “both companies want a new look.”
They “want to be seen as forward-looking companies of the future — companies that are good at software and AI and things that they haven’t been known for in the past,” he said.