Ford’s Chennai tech centre to be global innovation hub
Ford Motor Company will set up a green and modern Global Technology and Business Centre in Chennai that will serve as a hub for product development, mobility solutions and business services for India and other markets around the world. The US auto major will be investing $195 million (Rs 1300 crore) and hire 3,000 skilled workers over the next 5 years.
Ford will also consolidate 9,000 employees from the 6 existing facilities in Chennai on the 28-acre campus. With 12,000 employees in total, the Chennai facility will become Ford’s second-largest centre of employment globally after Dearborn, Michigan, USA.
Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in Chennai that, “India is not only a vibrant market for cars and new mobility ideas, but also is rich with talent, technical expertise and ingenuity. This new centre will help us attract the best and brightest, and make Chennai a true hub of innovation for Ford around the world,” he said.
Expected to be completed by early 2019, the Ford Global Technology and Business Centre in Chennai will become Ford’s third global product development centre in Asia Pacific and part of Ford’s global product development network. Along with housing engineering talent, the campus will be home to employees from IT, finance, accounting, data analytics and manufacturing.
The centre will employ Indian engineers, scientists and skilled workers. It will also feature a wide range of laboratories and testing facilities for both full vehicles and components, enabling Ford to conduct extensive testing of future vehicles in India.
“This is an exciting plan for Ford in Chennai, and it underscores the bright future we are creating together. We want to express our deepest gratitude to the Tamil Nadu government and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for working with Ford over many years to make this vision a reality,” Dave Schoch, President, Ford Asia Pacific, said.
Business services
The proposed business and technology centre will house Ford’s second-largest IT organisation outside of the company’s global headquarters. Making the most of local talent, this team will help drive innovative ideas for Ford’s core and emerging business models in mobility, analytics and connected vehicles.
The centre will also help Ford continue to innovate in manufacturing around the world, standardising processes and making use of the latest technologies to enhance efficiency. Teams working on advanced financial analysis and future data analytics will further strengthen the new facility as a global centre of excellence.
Bringing together all employees from skill teams currently spread across 6 different locations in Chennai, will help democratise innovation. It will deliver business solutions to nearly every Ford location around the world in the areas of product development, information technology, finance and accounting, manufacturing, data analytics, marketing, sales and service, purchasing, and automotive financing.