Ford taps 400 from BlackBerry for Canada connected car research

TORONTO – Ford Motor Co. will hire approximately 400 employees from embattled communications company BlackBerry Ltd. as part of sizable new investments in Canada that include a connected-vehicle research center in Ottawa, the smartphone maker said Thursday. Ford said the Ottawa research center is part of a 500 million Canadian dollar ($376 million) investment. The company also plans to increase sustainability and fuel economy research at its Windsor and Oakville operations. The company said it will hire approximately 300 engineers in Canada and 100 additional hardware and software engineers in the U.S. to support the work of the Canadian team. The new Ottawa Research and Engineering Centre in Canada will focus on research and development across infotainment, in-vehicle modems, gateway modules, driver-assist features and autonomous vehicles, said Ford.