Fluor was founded in 1912 by John Simon Fluor as Fluor Construction Company. It grew quickly, predominantly by building oil refineries, pipelines, and other facilities for the oil and gas industry, at first in California, and then in the Middle East and globally. In the late 1960s, it began diversifying into oil drilling, coal mining and other raw materials like lead. A global recession in the oil and gas industry and losses from its mining operation led to restructuring and layoffs in the 1980s. Fluor sold its oil operations and diversified its construction work into a broader range of services and industries.