Ford Relocates Headquarters 3 Miles for Enhanced Collaboration

Ford Motor Co. is set to embark on a short-distance relocation in the coming months, marking its first headquarters move in 70 years. The historic automaker will shift its global headquarters to a new building located just 3 miles (approximately 5 kilometers) away from its current location in Dearborn, Michigan.

The new 2.1 million square feet (approximately 195,096 square meters) building, named "Ford World Headquarters," is scheduled to open in November. It is part of a larger campus that will retain the name of the existing headquarters: the Henry Ford II World Center. Henry Ford II, the grandson of company founder Henry Ford, is the uncle of the current executive chairman, Bill Ford.

Ford's current headquarters, located at 1 American Road in Dearborn, is affectionately known as "The Glass House" and has been in use since 1956. At the time, Ford described it as one of the largest office buildings in the U.S. used by a single company.

Ted Ryan, Ford's brand heritage and brand manager, stated, "When we move to the new headquarters, the address at 1 American Road will move with us, as we continue to develop products for the next century."

The new headquarters, a short 5 to 10-minute drive from the current location, is designed to enhance collaboration and innovation by centralizing the company's management, design, and engineering teams. Within the new campus, 14,000 employees can reach their workplaces within a 15-minute walk from the main building.

The new headquarters will feature six design studios, a 160,000 square feet (approximately 14,864 square meters) employee shared food hall, health and wellness rooms, a mother's room, and over 300 advanced technology-equipped conference rooms.

Meanwhile, General Motors is also advancing plans to relocate its headquarters from its iconic building along the Detroit River to a new office building in downtown Detroit.

The site of the new Ford headquarters was once home to the Product Development Center, which held its grand opening ceremony in 1953. President Dwight D. Eisenhower participated in the event via closed-circuit television, marking the first time this technology was used for such an occasion.

Some of the most iconic Ford vehicles, including the Mustang, Thunderbird, and F-Series trucks, were developed at this location. Ryan, standing in the shadow of the massive "Glass House" building, remarked, "Dearborn and Ford are almost synonymous. When people think of Dearborn, they think of Ford; when they think of Ford, they think of Dearborn."

"The place where Henry Ford was born is just a few miles from where our current headquarters stands... Several Ford family members have expressed that when they enter the building and see the blue oval Ford emblem on the walls, it feels like they are walking into their own home."

In the near future, these family members, along with thousands of Ford employees, will step into this brand-new "home."