Fluor to Merge Operations of 2 Subsidiaries : Another Step in Firm’s Restructuring Plan

Fluor Corp., outlining yet another step in its restructuring plan, said Tuesday that it will merge certain foreign operations of its Fluor Engineers and Daniel International subsidiaries into a new company to be called Fluor-Daniel International.

Operations in the Western Hemisphere will continue to be separately administered by the two subsidiaries.

A Fluor spokesman said formation of the new entity is under way and should be completed by year-end.

Fluor-Daniel, which will absorb some 2,700 Fluor employees, will oversee construction projects in Europe, Africa and the Middle East from its London office, while projects in the Pacific Rim, including China, will be administered from Fluor’s Hong Kong office.

No Layoffs Due

In a prepared statement, Fluor Chairman David S. Tappan Jr. said that separating Fluor’s engineering and construction operations by region “will decentralize our operations and bring decision making closer to our clients.”

The spokesman said that, while the move would have a streamlining effect, no layoffs will take place as a result.

He said employment in all company operations will remain at 29,000, down sharply from the 43,000 that Fluor employed in 1983.

“Fluor’s expertise on big projects coupled with Daniel’s capability, particularly in non-energy projects, will improve their competitive position in going after contracts on a worldwide scale,” said Herbert Hart, an analyst with S. G. Warburg, Rowe & Pitman, Akroyd in San Francisco. “It would be a logical move.”

Irvine-based Fluor expects to lose $600 million during 1985, but Daniel, a Greenville, S.C., concern purchased in 1977 for $218 million, has been one of the company’s few profitable operations, partly because its non-union status has helped it to be competitive.