In an old train station in Detroit, Ford CEO Jim Farley is planning the future for the company’s next 100 years. But don’t expect electric trains in this plan. Farley talked about this vision in an episode of Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast. We were sitting in Michigan Central Station in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. This station was built in 1913 and ran trains for about 75 years before closing in 1988 because fewer people were using trains due to Detroit’s declining manufacturing industry.
Ford bought the 472,000-square-foot building in 2018 for $90 million and renovated it with about $1 billion to create a hub for high-tech jobs. The station will be the center for new mobility innovations. Ford employees will work on projects like self-driving cars there, and Google is also part of this project. They will share their technology and provide training for local students and job seekers.
Ford plans to add hotels and stores to attract tech talent to Detroit. Farley hopes this development will help Ford hire the best people to work on self-driving and electric cars.
This reopening is important for Ford and Farley, who will be CEO for four years in October. Ford’s stock hasn’t been doing well lately because of quality issues and problems in the electric car market. But under Farley’s leadership, Ford has released electric cars like the Mustang Mach-e SUV and Lightning F-150 pickup truck. They also have a partnership with Tesla, so Ford electric cars can charge at Tesla’s Superchargers. Farley and Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, have a good relationship.
Ford’s stock hasn’t been doing well in the past two years, but Farley is making changes to improve things. They are delaying the release of some electric cars and pushing back EV production at a factory in Tennessee. They are also spending less money on electric cars and making more hybrid cars to help during the electric car transition.
Ford’s financial situation is improving. They expect to make between $10 billion and $12 billion in profit this year. Even though Ford’s electric car division is losing money right now, Farley is confident they will make a profit eventually.
Ford’s competitor, General Motors, is also focusing on electric cars. CEO Mary Barra said they are not giving up on electric cars.
