Introducing the New Ford World Headquarters

[Administrator]

Introducing the New Ford World Headquarters

A version of this letter was sent to Ford employees on the morning of September 15, 2025.

Today marks another important chapter in our company's history. We are proud to announce a new Ford World Headquarters will be at the heart of our upgraded and reimagined Dearborn product development campus, the new Henry Ford II World Center.

This is more than just a new building; it’s a catalyst for innovation and a physical symbol of our Ford+ transformation. To win in this new era, we must work more closely together than ever before.

Our new headquarters is designed to make that happen, bringing thousands of our engineering, design, and technology team members together in one collaborative space – twice the size of our current HQ, and built to accommodate double the employees – to innovate and solve problems faster than ever before.

Our team is working hard to wrap construction as hundreds of employees are collaborating in the building already. While the majority of the facility will be complete this year, work will continue through 2027 on a final section of the site.

When that’s done, up to 4,000 people can work from our HQ with a total of 14,000 employees within a 15-minute walk of the new World Headquarters building, enabling greater collaboration in practice and proximity.

This is part of a larger investment in our people and our facilities across the globe. We are committed to providing employees with world-class workspaces, modern technology, and the best tools to do their life’s best work—from our global offices to our manufacturing floors. Our dealers around the world are likewise investing in their stores and service centers to elevate the customer experience.

For nearly 70 years, the iconic Glass House served as the nerve center of our global operations and we honor its incredible legacy. But the future of our industry demands a different kind of space – one that is more connected, more flexible, and built for the speed of a technology – and software-driven company.

As we continue to adapt our campus for the future, the Glass House will itself be transformed. Once our teams have vacated the building, it will be sustainably decommissioned and ultimately demolished over the course of roughly 18 months as we prepare to repurpose the site as an asset to our teams and our community.

We are working with the City of Dearborn on a plan for how the site can best serve our employees and neighbors, and we will have more to share about those plans later.

We will officially open our new World Headquarters this November, when all employees will be welcome to visit our new home to work, collaborate, or simply see the future for yourselves. We will also open the doors for public tours, sharing this new community landmark with our neighbors.

This is a pivotal moment. We are not just building the next generation of vehicles; we are building the next generation of Ford.

Thank you for being part of it.

Bill Ford and Jim Farley



Key Facts: New Ford World Headquarters

As the 122-year-old automaker invests billions throughout the enterprise to modernize, Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Farley announced at an internal event today that Ford World Headquarters operations will move to its state-of-the-art product development facility at 20901 Oakwood Blvd. in November 2025.

The building anchors Ford’s refreshed Dearborn, MI campus, bringing cross-functional teams together to collaborate in practice and proximity. This ushers in a new way of working in the name of the next generation of automotive innovation.

Key Building Stats:

• Scheduled Completion: 2027; work on a final section remains ongoing
• Groundbreaking: December 2020
• Size: 2.1 M square feet
• Floors: 4
• Contractor: Barton Malow
• Primary materials: Glass, Steel, Concrete, Natural Stone, Natural Wood
• Grand Opening: November 2025

Enabling collaboration, efficiency and innovation:

• Any Ford employee can access collaboration space at the new building, which brings cross-functional teams together through three main types of spaces: Workplace, Amenities, and Unique Programming (Design Studios, Showroom, Fabrication Shops, and Garages) to support different working styles
• When the building is complete, 14,000 employees will be within a 15-minute walk, enabling collaboration in practice and proximity
• The building enables free movement of products, as it can accommodate a vehicle almost anywhere
• Vertically-stacked layout reduces material movement time by more than 80 percent compared to the previous Product Development Center, a result of a two-year study leading to the final design of the building.
• Workspaces are available throughout the building for employees, regardless of their assigned office, enabling collaboration across the Dearborn campus
• The new Ford World Headquarters is more than twice the size of current headquarters (The Glass House) and supports twice the number of employees

Building Features & Amenities:

• Six Design Studios allow for confidential reviews in indoor and outdoor space
• Design Showroom enables Ford to conduct a full product review in one unified space for the first time, featuring 10 turntables and state-of-the-art lighting, a zero-degree pitched floor extending out to the courtyard review space, and a 64-foot micro-LED screen for comparing digital, full-size vehicles
• Large event spaces for hundreds of employees with state-of-the-art technology to accommodate needs in-house
• 160K square foot food hall will be accessible to all Ford employees
• Wellness rooms, kitchenettes, mothers’ rooms
• 303 tech-enabled meeting rooms to collaborate seamlessly with global teams
• More than 100,000 square feet of interior courtyard space—accessible by all employees throughout the workday
• 26 vehicle turntables throughout for product display and review
• 12 acres of greenspace creates a walkable environment between facilities on the Dearborn Campus, more than doubling the tree canopy

Naming:

• When the building officially opens in November 2025, it will be dedicated as Ford World Headquarters
• The Ford Dearborn campus will be designated the Henry Ford II World Center, a name currently associated with the Glass House (Ford’s current headquarters)

Sustainability Highlights:

• Ford developed sustainability goals tailored to the building’s unique programming, climate, and site. The design of the new World Headquarters is largely informed by WELL building standards
• The new World Headquarters is designed as a Net-Zero Energy Building. Once completed, this ambitious initiative will incorporate key strategies targeting energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste reduction. A Central Energy Plant (CEP) will efficiently supply hot water and steam across the Ford campus, while participation in DTE Energy’s MI Green Power program will help achieve a net-zero carbon footprint.
• The building’s design was informed by leading sustainability practices and is targeted to use around 50% less energy than our previous product development center

Site History:

• The new World Headquarters Building is situated on the site of the former Ford Product Development Center, which opened in 1953
• When the campus was first dedicated in 1953, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower joined the celebration live through the first-ever use of closed-circuit television
• Some of the most iconic American vehicles were born here on this site and throughout the Dearborn Campus, including the Mustang, Thunderbird, Continental, F-Series trucks, Ranger, and the Ford GT

The Glass House:

• When the Glass House first opened in 1956, it was a place that inspired a generation of great innovators and birthed a long lineage of incredible products. Our new World Headquarters is designed to help us continue that legacy— enabling us to continue to invent, design, and develop products that lead the industry so we can compete and win across the globe in a new era
• At the time, it was one of the nation’s largest office buildings occupied by a single company
• The Glass House itself will also be transformed. Ford will complete the move out of the building in the first half of 2026. Afterward, it will be sustainably decommissioned and ultimately demolished over the course of roughly 18 months so that the site can be repurposed as an asset to our local community
• Ford will continue to own the property, and it will continue to play an important role in the story of our commitment to Dearborn and Southeast Michigan for many, many years to come
• Ford is working with the City of Dearborn and community leaders on how the site can best serve our employees and neighbors, and we will have more to share about those plans later

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[SoDak1623]

So is this going to help with all the QC issues on Ford vehicles? Or is this just a way for corporate to be more comfy while they pass the cost of the facility on to the consumer?

 

[Brian_B]

Can't wait to see all the recalls they can come up with for a building.

 

[Headsong]

Can't wait to see all the recalls they can come up with for a building.

You beat me. Gotta be recalls.

 

[Toccoa]

Looks like something from a dystopian sci-fi movie. I guess it's better than the old Hilton hotel they are currently in, but not by much.

 

[helifino16]

Just watch - ALL Ford MSRPs will skyrocket. You know, because their Cars and Trucks are SO wildly popular.

 

[Newbie]

The Glass House itself will also be transformed. Ford will complete the move out of the building in the first half of 2026. Afterward, it will be sustainably decommissioned and ultimately demolished

Oh no!

 

[Felix808]

I'm so happy for them

 

[TheKim]

Jokes aside - on site work is good for engineers and designers.

They're going to add garages and fabrication shops, which COULD* help with QA since the engineers might have to actually see the product now.

Some of the thoughts that went into the building look good, I actually hope it does well, and Ford can do something great.

Luckily, Ford aren't the ones building it, and they contracted it out...

*NO PROMISES, IT'S STILL A FORD

 

[tock13]

Positive takeaway is it said it’s in Dearborn and not Beijing. Can’t say the same for where GM is headed.

 

[userdude]

Jokes aside - on site work is good for engineers and designers.

They're going to add garages and fabrication shops, which COULD* help with QA since the engineers might have to actually see the product now.

Some of the thoughts that went into the building look good, I actually hope it does well, and Ford can do something great.

Luckily, Ford isn't actually the ones building it, and they contract it out...

*NO PROMISES, IT'S STILL A FORD

For a legacy company as siloed as Ford, what they're suggesting and the new thing down in LA is probably good overall.

 

[Headsong]

Jokes aside - on site work is good for engineers and designers.

They're going to add garages and fabrication shops, which COULD* help with QA since the engineers might have to actually see the product now.

Some of the thoughts that went into the building look good, I actually hope it does well, and Ford can do something great.

Luckily, Ford isn't actually the ones building it, and they contract it out...

*NO PROMISES, IT'S STILL A FORD

Hmmm. I wonder if they'll find my Mango 1 which got hijacked by someone in that building a week before delivery....they've never said where it went.

And now I wonder if they pulled folks off the line to do work there, which could explain all the recalls....which will now be in the building.

 

[Bschurr]

I am sure all the recently laid off employees are excited about this as well…

 

[flip]

Hopefully it's getting staffed by completely different idiots. I don't see how upgrading the office, with better views, is doing anything but rewarding horrible performance.

 

[BeerRanger]

The move is for a pretty simple reason. Puts them within a 10 minute driving distance of the closest Fords Garage restaurant.

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