DIGGER manufacturer JCB has announced chief executive Matthew Taylor will leave the company at the end of the year.

He decided to leave the Rocester-based firm to pursue other opportunities which the company said would be announced in the New Year.

Mr Taylor became the firm's first chief executive at the start of 2007 as part of a long-term strategy to grow the business globally.

Alan Blake, JCB's chief operating officer, will replace Mr Taylor from January 1 and will report to chairman Sir Anthony Bamford.

Mr Blake has been a senior director at JCB for 20 years.

Mr Taylor's departure will spark a change in JCB's management structure. Tim Burnhope will become group managing director for product development and commercial operations and Graeme Macdonald will be group managing director for business operations.

David Bell, managing director of JCB Sales, becomes chief development officer with particular responsibility for future development in China and Brazil, where the company has plants. David Miller is to remain as chief financial officer. Sir Anthony said: "Tim Burnhope and Graeme Macdonald are taking on exciting new roles and they will benefit greatly from the vast experience of Alan Blake, David Miller and David Bell.

"I am confident this structure will strengthen JCB's reputation as a leading customer-focused, innovative and cost-competitive business."

Over the past 18 months, JCB has been hit hard by the global downturn and its impact on the construction industry. The company has had to lay off some 1,600 UK workers. It now employs around 4,000 people at nine factories.

Last month, the company reported annual profits of £39m for 2008, well down on the previous year, when it made £187m.