Hyperdrive
Ford Bets Detroit Eyesore Can Transform Into Tech Talent Magnet
- Carmaker buys station used as apocalyptic backdrop for movies
- About 2,500 workers expected to work from downtown by 2022
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Ford Motor Co. has made a big bet that restoring a 104-year-old Detroit train station will turn the tide in the war for tech talent that’s hamstrung the automaker’s efforts to outmaneuver Silicon Valley in the race toward an autonomous age.
The second-largest U.S. automaker is sinking untold millions into reviving Michigan Central Station, a former train depot designed by the same architects behind New York’s Grand Central Station. As Ford looks to transform itself -- from a manufacturer into a provider of transportation services -- it plans to house thousands of employees in the crumbling relic used as an apocalyptic backdrop for “Transformers” and “Batman v. Superman” movie scenes.