Ford Hires BlackBerry Employees to Work on Connected Cars -- 2nd Update
March 30 2017 - 12:10PM
Dow Jones News
By Christina Rogers and David George-Cosh
Ford Motor Co. is hiring 400 engineers from BlackBerry Ltd.'s
mobility solutions unit to help develop internet-connected
vehicles, giving a boost to the auto maker's software development
efforts as it races to keep up with traditional rivals and tech
companies.
About 100 of the BlackBerry engineers will come from the
smartphone maker's office in Florida and another 300 will join from
its Canadian operations in Ontario, according to representatives of
Ford and BlackBerry.
At an event with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ford
announced Thursday it would establish a new research and develop
center in Ottawa, Ont., investing $500 million Canadian dollars
($375 million) for the new facility and expanded workforce.
The hiring of BlackBerry's engineers will double Ford's
mobile-connectivity team, the company said, helping the auto maker
further build its computing expertise as it pivots to new ventures
that rely more on vehicle connectivity.
Like other auto makers, Ford is rushing to bolster its ranks of
software programmers and computer engineers, often battling other
car makers and tech startups for talent.
Ford also reaffirmed plans to upgrade the company's engine
plants in Windsor, Ontario, under C$700 million in investment
committed by the No. 2 U.S. auto maker last year as part of a new
labor agreement with the union representing Canada's auto workers,
Unifor.
BlackBerry has trimmed down its mobility solutions unit after
the company announced it would close its smartphone manufacturing
operations to focus on its higher-margin software business and
allow third-party vendors to build devices.
Ford has already forged close ties with BlackBerry, announcing
in 2014 it would use the smartphone maker's QNX car software for
its SYNC infotainment systems, instead of Microsoft Corp.
In October, Ford and BlackBerry announced they would expand the
use of QNX software within the auto maker's fleet, including
developing a dedicated operating system and program to control
other software and related-security technology.
"As part of that partnership, approximately 400 of our skilled
mobile solutions engineers in Canada and the United States accepted
offers to move from BlackBerry to Ford," a company spokeswoman
said.
BlackBerry's QNX software currently operates in more than 60
million vehicles globally, according to the company.
Ford in recent months has stepped up investment in its connected
car and autonomous-driving expertise, aiming to build talent
in-house rather than rely on outside suppliers to develop the
technology.
Last month, the auto maker announced it was investing $1 billion
in Argo AI, a startup consisting of former engineers from the
autonomous-vehicle programs of Uber Technologies Inc. and Alphabet
Inc.
The investment, to be made during the next five years, is part
of Ford's efforts to develop a self-driving car by 2021 and better
attract the type of software talent accustomed to working in small
startups, rather than large corporations.
Write to Christina Rogers at christina.rogers@wsj.com and David
George-Cosh at david.george-cosh@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 30, 2017 11:55 ET (15:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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