Ford’s India GCC to hire 500, bets on AI and connected vehicles

Bengaluru: Ford Business Solutions (FBS) plans to hire around 500 people in India in 2027, mainly in technology and data roles, as the automaker builds specialised capabilities in areas such as AI and connected vehicles while taking a more calibrated approach to overall workforce growth.The India global capability centre (GCC), which has more than 12,000 employees, has grown steadily in recent years. However, the increasing use of artificial intelligence and productivity tools is expected to reshape how GCCs approach hiring and headcount expansion.“We are projecting hiring for around 500 positions in 2027,” said Gangapriya Chakraverti, India site head and managing director for Ford Business Solutions. The hiring will largely focus on technology and data roles and will be skewed towards experienced professionals with specialised skills.FBS is increasingly looking for talent with experience in digital transformation across areas such as enterprise technology, finance and supply chain. The focus is on hiring professionals who have worked on modernising business functions and can bring relevant domain expertise and specialised capabilities to the organisation.The hiring plans come as Ford undergoes a broader transformation amid intensifying competition and rapid technological change in the automotive industry. Traditional automakers are under pressure to rethink product development, cost structures and operating models as Chinese manufacturers expand globally and software and connectivity become increasingly integral to vehicles.At the same time, FBS is evaluating how AI could reshape the nature of work and improve productivity. The company has developed its own internal large language model, Mach1ML, which is layered on top of other foundational models and provides employees with a controlled environment to experiment with and use generative AI tools.FBS has already expanded the scope of technology work handled from India following a global overhaul of Ford’s sourcing strategy. Core software and coding work has increasingly been brought in-house, helping the India organisation build deeper technology capabilities, while lower-end and legacy work with defined sunset plans has been moved to external providers.One of the growing areas is connected vehicles. Ford’s Connected Vehicle System (CVS) organisation is an approximately 200-member team that designs, develops, delivers and maintains connected-vehicle software solutions across the vehicle and the cloud for Ford Motor Company’s business units.The team works on connectivity platforms, vehicle software insights, vehicle health insights, over-the-air software updates and digital product delivery. The capability reflects the growing importance of software and data in the automotive industry, as companies use information generated by vehicles to improve products, develop new services and enhance the customer experience.The FBS organisation supports a broad range of functions, including enterprise technology, data and analytics, finance and accounting, supply chain, product development and connected-vehicle technologies. The breadth of these capabilities allows teams in India to collaborate across functions on increasingly complex business and technology problems.Get the latest Business News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.