Ford Motor Company is moving into its new world headquarters in Dearborn. Called “The Hub,” it’s a seven story tall, 2.1 million square foot facility with four floors.

The building replaces the manufacturer’s outgoing HQ along Michigan Avenue near the Southfield Freeway. Ford Land Chair and CEO Jim Dobleske says, for years, that building has presented challenges when it came to collaborating.

“They had to get in a car,” says Dobleske, “drive five minutes, park, walk into the building, get set up. So it was about a half hour venture before they could really get together.”

But that won’t be an issue for The Hub, where everyone from finance to the design teams will be in the same place. Project architects say the building’s wide-open rooms, sweeping staircases and collaborative areas put a focus on movement.

Officials say about 99% of The Hub is exposed to natural light.

Craig Dykers is founding partner of architecture firm Ford enlisted to design the building, Snøhetta. He says incorporating nature was an important part of the design process.

“Of course it’s important to humans,” says Dykers. “We need fresh air and daylight and access to nature to help us thrive — and so that was an important feature of making this.”

In total, the new building cost Ford around $1.2 billion to construct. But company officials say that price tag is well worth it — as they expect The Hub to serve as the automaker’s HQ for the next hundred years.

The auto industry in southeast Michigan is showing signs of strain.

In May, Ford ended a major initiative to modernize its vehicles’ computing systems. The “Fully Networked Vehicle” project is estimated to have cost the company $10 billion before it was shut down this spring.

That decision had ripple effects for local suppliers. Bosch confirmed to The Metro that it laid off 160 employees from its U.S.-based “Mobility Cross-Domain Computing Solutions Division,” including staff from its Plymouth, Michigan office. Back in November 2024, Bosch had announced plans to eliminate 3,500 of these jobs worldwide by 2027.

Adding to the uncertainty are new tariffs enacted by President Donald Trump, the elimination of electric vehicle tax credits, and slower-than-expected EV sales in the U.S.—all of which have cast doubt on the country’s electric car future.

John McElroy, a longtime auto journalist and broadcaster, joined us to talk about the implications of Ford’s Fully Networked Vehicle shutdown and what lies ahead for EVs in the U.S.

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More stories from The Metro

Ford is recalling more than 694,000 Bronco Sport and Escape vehicles because the fuel injector may crack and leak, which may cause a fire.

If fuel leaks inside the engine compartment and there’s a hot engine or exhaust components, it could increase the risk of a fire.

The recall impacts certain 2021-2024 Bronco Sport and 2020-2022 Escape vehicles equipped with 1.5L engines.

Ford has been looking into the fuel injector issue since 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The company’s field review committee approved recalls in November 2022, March 2024 and March 2025, during which it performed software updates.

Ford has continued to investigate the issue. As part of the ongoing process, the automaker looked at corrosion as a contributing factor to fuel injector cracks between April and May 2025.

Ford identified injector cracking on eight vehicles that experienced underhood fires. Six of the vehicles didn’t have updated engine control software. The automaker isn’t aware of any injuries related to the fires.

Earlier this month Ford’s field review committee decided to issue a recall for certain vehicles to update their engine control software for free until a final remedy is available.

A letter notifying vehicle owners of the safety risk is expected to be mailed on Aug. 18. A second letter will be sent once the final remedy is available. Vehicle owners can contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 and reference recall number 25S76.