Steve Jobs Takes Leave of Absence Until End of June

There's been a rather large cloud of doubt hovering over fans of Apple for quite a while now, relating to the health of the company's creative CEO, Steve Jobs. Last summer, we found out that Jobs mentioned to a reporter that he was fine, and then just a few weeks ago, he sent out a revealing e-mail to his company and press saying that he has indeed had rough health issues, but the worst was over.

Yesterday, though, Steve e-mailed his team once again and stated that his condition has turned out to be a little more "complex" than originally believed, and to help focus on it, he'll be taking a leave of absence from the company until the end of June. It goes without saying that this is a smart move, because health should always come before work.

In the interim, Tim Cook, Apple's COO, will become responsible for the company's day-to-day operations, although Steve will still be working close with executives on the important decisions. Apple's stock fell sharply as a result of the news, but it's probably obvious that Apple isn't simply going to die because the CEO's taking a break. Get well soon, Steve.

I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

Source: Letter from Steve Jobs