Dow Jones reports that Ford will close its Ingeni design studio in London to re-deploy its designers and managers to different brands owned by the car company, citing as source a Ford executive.
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The Dow Jones item appears to add weight to an earlier report saying the same thing published in UK consumer magazine Autocar.
Cash-strapped Ford is said to be taking the measure to save costs.
The Ingeni studio was set up in London’s Soho district by Ford design head J Mays, who convinced then Ford chief Jac Nasser in the late 1990s that in order to understand youth culture, Ford needed a design centre in central London. The studio was set up with a brief to leave a group of young designers free to explore new design ideas in areas such as consumer goods, furniture, fashion and graphic design. They would also work on accessories and products for Ford’s PAG brands.
After four years of planning and expensive construction work, the Ingeni studio opened in June 2002. It will reportedly close on 1 January next year.
It is reported also that the fourteen Ingeni designers will be redeployed back into Ford brands – split between Dearborn, PAG and Ford of Europe.
The future of Gerry McGovern, the former Lincoln-Mercury design chief who began running Ingeni earlier this year, is unclear, although an announcement is said to be likely in December. McGovern is thought likely to stay with Ford and receive a senior position in the UK.
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