Ford Motor Co. is shutting down its West Coast design studio in Orange County as it shifts work to a new electric vehicle development hub in Long Beach, a company spokeswoman said Thursday, July 17.
The automaker recently filed a notice with California’s Employment Development Department indicating layoffs might take place as it runs out the lease at 3 Glen Bell Way, the studio’s longtime home off the 5 freeway at Irvine Spectrum Center.
The facility’s closure was mentioned in the EDD filing, which is part of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — commonly referred to as WARN. Notifications are required when an employer lays off more than 50 employees.
Marlina Frederick, human resources director for Ford in Long Beach, wrote in the June 30 letter to EDD that the Irvine studio is closing Nov. 30, which could result in as many as 263 job cuts as workers shift to locations in Long Beach and Dearborn, Michigan.
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