Despite a number of high-profile executive departures over the past year, Apple has been able to recruit a 31-year veteran from Ford to help lead the development of the famed ‘Apple Car’ project.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg is reporting Ford’s former global director of automotive safety engineering Desi Ujkashevic has recently joined Apple.
Even though Ujkashevic is still currently listed on Ford’s website as their global director, the automaker confirmed to Bloomberg that she has retired, without providing a date for when the retirement took place.
During her tenure at Ford, when began in 1991, Ujkashevic has worked on engineering the interiors, exteriors, chassis and electrical components of the Ford Escape, Explorer, Fiesta and Focus models, as well as the Lincoln MKC and Aviator.
Apple did not confirm the hire, but it points to the tech giant forging ahead with plans to launch a self-driving electric car by 2025.
It has been a bumpy road for Apple and the Apple Car project over the past 12 months. The project’s entire executive team from 2021 is no longer with the company, also losing several key engineers during that time.
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