This story is so hot that I’m going to have to keep this short out of fear of burning my fingers — Steve Jobs is stepping down at Apple to take himself “out of the limelight and focus” on his health. He will take a leave of absence until the end of June and Mr. Cook will be running the day-to-day operations in the meantime, but Jobs will still be involved in all “major strategic decisions” while he is gone. Trading has reportedly been halted on shares of AAPL. We wish Steve a speedy recovery, but this doesn’t sound good, folks. The full message from Jobs is after the break…
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
