Ailing luxury goods group Waterford Wedgwood is getting a new chief executive after pretax losses more than trebled to £99 million last year.
The Irish company which takes in Midlands-based Royal Doulton said group CEO Redmond O'Donoghue would retire on September 1.
He will be replaced by the current chief operating office Peter Cameron, who joined the group last year.
Mr O'Donoghue will remain on the board as a non-executive director and will become a special consultant to chairman Sir Anthony O'Reilly, deputy chairman Peter John Goulandris and Mr Cameron. Waterford is in the process of restructuring its business in the wake of a savage downturn in demand for its upmarket glass and chinaware.
It is shedding a total of 1,800 jobs, including 615 in its British operations to offset a 12 per cent fall in sales to £486 million in the year to March 31.
The Dungarvan glass factory in Ireland is to close with the loss of 395 jobs and further 95 are being cut at the Kilbarry plant in Waterford.
Cut glass production is being concentrated at a newer facility at Waterford City where the company employs 1,000 people.
About 150 jobs have been cut in the Staffordshire Potteries, an area that the company says is crucial to its activities.
Sir Anthony said: "During Redmond O'Donoghue's five years as CEO of Waterford Crystal the business experienced unprecedented growth.
"Then, as group chief executive, he led the company to its best-ever years in 2000 and 2001.
"In the challenging years since then he has devoted much of his energy to restructuring our worldwide business and he now hands it on.
"Peter Cameron's appointment represents the latest stage in Waterford Wedgwood ' s restructuring."
