The Wall Street Journal has reprinted a letter from Apple CEO Steve Jobs to Apple staff a few minutes ago. This is the letter in its entirety:
Team,
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.
In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.
I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.
Steve
This is going to do two things. First, Apple Fanbois will freak that God Steve is not running the show. Second it’s sure to send the stock value of Apple downwards (it closed down 2.71% before this news broke, and is currently heading downwards in after hours trading). But the upshot is that the Fanbois will get a healther God Steve sometime this summer. Which is a good thing for all concerned, especially Steve Jobs.
UPDATE: Here’s a video from CNN. Thanks To DJ Schneider for the tip:
