Ford Motor Co. will open an electric vehicle development center in Long Beach, California, next year in a bid to attract and retain the engineering and software talent it needs to develop future EVs.

The 250,000-square-foot center will house up to 450 employees. Ford declined to disclose the investment in the location. It's an outgrowth of the Dearborn automaker's "skunkworks" group, a small team under the leadership of Tesla Inc. veteran Alan Clarke purposefully set apart in California to work without disruption. They're seeking to revolutionize the way Ford develops its vehicles with a new flexible platform that can offer EV models priced as low as $25,000. Accomplishing that will require adopting a new mindset and approach, experts said.

"We have to attract and retain the best key talent, and many of them have chosen to live in California," Clarke said this week during a Grow Long Beach presentation held by Mayor Rex Richardson. "Our strategy is to create hubs across the U.S. where we can attract the very best talent in electric vehicles, and we want to have a great connection for communities that people can live in. And we have to have proximity to restaurants and grocery stores and workout classes and facilities that are a draw for people to come into the office.

"It's also really important for us to have feeder university programs and jobs programs so that we can have the right engineers, designers and technicians in the same place."

Affordability in comparison to gas-powered vehicles has been one of the largest challenges for consumers in adopting alternative powertrains. Ford hasn't said when vehicles using the platform will launch except that it will take a couple of years. Analysts expect it could be as early as late 2026 or in 2027.

The new center will contribute to a major product line at Ford, Doug Field, the automaker's chief EV, digital and design officer, said during the event: "We have a project that we really want to make big."

It's not just Ford that has gone to California to find the talent it needs. Many other automakers have some kind of presence in the Golden State. Tesla Inc. grew up there, and Rivian Automotive Inc. moved its headquarters there after getting its start in Plymouth. General Motors Co. last month opened a 50,000-square-foot Mountain View Technical Center in Silicon Valley to support software development. GM CEO Mary Barra said the company will go where the talent is.

Detroit's automakers aren't abandoning Metro Detroit, but they are casting a wider net to ensure they have the people with the skills they need to compete in a transforming marketplace, particularly from tech and EV startups. Clarke said employees at the Long Beach center will work closely with Ford's industrial team mostly in Dearborn and in other hubs throughout the United States, including Greenfield Labs in Palo Alto, California. Ford is seeking to ensure its has the facilities that will attract the engineers, designers and innovators it needs here, too.

Construction of its new product development center in Dearborn expected to open next year is ongoing. Earlier this month, the automaker showed off to the public Michigan Central Station following a six-year renovation that is anchoring a nearly $1 billion mobility innovation campus in Detroit's Corktown. The station is expected to hold 2,500 Ford employees by 2028, mostly from its Model e EV division and software services teams.

Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford has discussed how his plans for the urban district came from the need of the company to attract engineer graduates out of the University of Michigan and other colleges, software developers and the industry's visionary leaders.

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