As everyone may have read by now, Steve Jobs is going on a leave of absence from Apple. This is a temporary thing, he says he'll be back by the end of June. It's a shame that a personal issue like this has such a profound effect on the market - not to mention Steve's personal life. Here is the letter to his team;
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
I am reading some of the comments on the Google Finance forums and I simply cannot get over some of the comments - which are somewhat offensive. I imagine this will be red day on the market tomorrow - and depending on the outcome who knows where it will lead the company. Whatever the case there are far more important things in life than money.
Although his letter was intended to remove the focus off of him and back on the company, I'm not sure the focus will change. Regardless, we all wish Steve Jobs the best of health and hope he has a speedy recovery.
