(Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc (N:CAT) will combine two divisions dealing with power and energy by June, adding more details to a massive restructuring plan, and analysts were expecting more job cuts.
The world's largest construction and mining equipment maker will create an Electric Power, Marine and Oil & Gas Division by consolidating the Electric Power and Marine & Petroleum Power Divisions, it said on Wednesday.
Steve Niehuas, currently vice president of the Electric Power Division will retire after 27 years with the company.
"As with any organizational change, there may be opportunities for us to better collaborate and work more efficiently where processes and functions are duplicated. We'll evaluate those in the coming months," said spokeswoman Rachel Potts, a Caterpillar spokesperson. The company did not give details on any job cuts.
The company has closed plants and reduced its workforce in a restructuring announced last year as it copes with global weakness in construction and mining, soft commodity prices and slowed demand for heavy machinery.
At the end of 2015, the global workforce totaled 105,700 employees, down nearly 11 percent from 2013.
In its fourth-quarter report on Jan. 28, it said the outlook for 2016 "does not anticipate improvement in world economic growth or commodity prices."
"If conditions stay soft, more cuts will be made. Much of the decline in mining, commodities, coal and energy have more than just cyclical weakness and the firm needs to right-size operations to the likely 'new normal,'" said Eli Lustgarten, analyst at Longbow Research.
Caterpillar shares were down 1.2 percent at $65.
Last year Caterpillar said it would consolidate and possibly lay off up to 10,000 employees by 2018. Analysts expect more details on the restructuring and see additional cuts to office personnel.
"It is normally a high-cost area and people can be asked to do more work-related functions (for the ones let go), while the mining and construction world hopefully start to improve," said Bill Seleksy, an analyst at Argus Research.
Caterpillar's 2016 outlook included about $400 million in restructuring costs. Last year restructuring costs totaled $908 million, with about 75 percent coming in the fourth quarter.
The company has reduced management by 13 percent since 2013, Caterpillar Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman said.