A good shepherd
takes leave of his flock
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has announced plans to take a leave of absence because of health issues.
Earlier this month the iconic CEO opted not to deliver a keynote at Macworld, admitting his doctors found a "causea hormone imbalance" for which he is reportedly receiving treatment.
In a letter to Apple employees, which leaked after markets closed Wednesday, Jobs said he's learnt his health troubles are "more complex" than originally anticipated. He vowed to return to business as usual by June; in the meantime, COO Timothy D. Cook will take over, reports The New York Times.
The 53-year-old exec obstinately maintained that he would keep his title as CEO and continue contributing to major decisions concerning Apple, whose cult status in the digital music, computing and mobile industries benefited greatly from his personality and corporate decisions.
Jobs, who co-founded Apple in 1976, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004. Reports of him appearing gaunt in 2008 fueled concerns that the cancer had returned. With regard to this leave, two people familiar with Jobs' personal status say his health concerns stem not from a relapse, but from a problem absorbing food. Doctors also advised Jobs to cut down on stress.
"It is reasonable to expect, given the history of Steve’s illness, that the market is probably going to assume that he is not going to return to Apple," said analyst Charles Wolf of Needham & Company.
Indeed, Apple shares dropped significantly in after-hours trading following the release of Jobs' letter. The stock's fall ceased at $79.30, a 7.1% loss following market close.
eWeek's Apple Watch compiled snippets of reactions to the news from around the blogosphere. Some bloggers suspect he is dying — which wouldn't be the first time writers have leapt to that conclusion — and still others speculate about what they perceive to be Apple's uncertain future without him.
In defense of its viability, Michael Gartenberg of MobileDevicesToday pointed out, "[It's] important to remember that no matter how closely we tie Steve Jobs and Apple together, there's still another 24,999 employees who make up [the company]."
Over the past eight years, Apple has managed to unload 180 million iPods on a ravenous population. In the last 18 months, it sold over 20 million iPhones.
Beyond Jobs' private address to employees, Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said the company had no comment regarding either his health or his leave.
