McDonald's chairman and chief executive Jack Greenberg has announced he is to retire at the end of the year.

In every company's history, there is a time when it is appropriate to pass the baton Jack Greenberg, McDonald's chief executive

He will be succeeded by Jim Cantalupo, who has previously been vice-chairman and president at the company.

The fast-food group has recently been struggling to revive sales and earnings.

Earlier this year it said it planned to slow its rate of expansion and might also cut jobs.

McDonald's shares closed up 41 cents, or 2.2%, at $18.78 on Thursday following the news.

Time for a change

"It's never easy to leave something that has brought so much professional and personal satisfaction into your life," said Mr Greenberg.

"But in every company's history, there is a time when it is appropriate to pass the baton and give a new management team the opportunity to lead, and that time has come at McDonald's."

As well as Mr Greenberg's departure, McDonald's said there would also be a shake-up in its senior management.

McDonald's has reported a drop in earnings in seven out the last eight quarters.

Price wars, the global economic slowdown and scares over the safety of beef in overseas markets, have all hit the fast-food chain.

In October it announced it was planning to open just 600 new outlets next year, compared with 1,300 scheduled openings in 2002.

And Mr Greenburg said at the time that it was "likely" that there would be some job losses.