Will Ford Say Ta Ta to London Design Studio ?

DETROIT November 25, 2003; Norihiko Shirouzu writing for the Wall Street Journal reported that Ford Motor Co.will close its design studio in London to "re- deploy" its designers and managers to different brands owned by the auto maker, according to a company executive familiar with the cost-cutting move.

He said Gerry McGovern, the former Lincoln-Mercury design chief who began running Ford's London design house earlier this year, will likely stay with the company in the United Kingdom. It wasn't immediately clear to which brand he was being re-assigned, however. The executive who spoke on condition of anonymity insisted the design studio called "Ingeni," which Ford opened in London in 2002 to create everything from automobiles to nonautomotive consumer products like watches and furniture, is closing down only on a temporary basis.

"We have got that option to go back in" if Ford deems it necessary to " rekindle the concept of Ingeni," said the executive.

Ingeni currently occupies three floors of a building in London's Soho district. The executive said Ford is planning to sublet those three floors to businesses while keeping its long-term lease on the office space. The executive couldn't say how much Ford is expected to save by closing Ingeni.

The other tenants of the building -- Ford Group Vice President Mark Fields and his team that runs the auto maker's Premier Automotive Group -- are expected to remain in the building. PAG manages a stable of European luxury brands: Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin.

The anonymous executive said Ford's financial trouble is the main force driving the auto maker to shutter its London design house. "When the company is in a position it is in, it makes more overall business sense to have that wealth of talent redeployed back into the brands rather than doing external work for third-party clients," he said. It wasn't immediately clear where the Ingeni design chief McGovern was going. The anonymous Ford executive said Mr. McGovern is expected to stay with Ford and would likely receive a senior position in the U.K. J Mays, Ford's group vice president of design, "has not made up his mind yet," he said.