Apple's Steve Jobs to take extended medical leave

[Nicktalopia]

Apple CEO Steve Jobs will take a medical leave until June to care for a hormonal imbalance that is "more complex" than he realized just nine days ago when he sought to squelch rumors that worsening health caused him to opt out of the Macworld Conference and Expo.


Jobs revealed this latest twist in his medical saga Wednesday in a letter to employees in which he deputized chief operating officer Tim Cook to run the company's day-to-day operations while he took time off to "focus on my health" and remove the "distraction" that his condition has been for Apple.

"During the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought," Jobs wrote, adding that, "As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out."

The announcement came after the close of trading on a day when Apple's shares fell $2.38 to at $85.33, a loss of nearly 3 percent. While after-hours trading apparently was halted for a time, the share price had sunk another 8 percent to $78.62 by mid-afternoon Pacific time.

In 2004, Jobs revealed that he had undergone surgery to treat a rare form of pancreatic cancer - an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor that is curable if diagnosed early. Jobs said he did not have the more common and deadlier pancreatic cancer, adenocarcinoma.

Rumors of worsening health have swirled for more than a year ever since Jobs appeared thinner in a series of public appearances. The concerns grew after he canceled a speech at Macworld earlier this month in San Francisco.

In a Jan. 5 letter attempting to put to rest speculation that his condition was deteriorating, Jobs posted a letter on Apple's Web site attributing his weight loss to a "nutritional problem (that is) is relatively simple and straightforward."

This latest revelation is bound to revive speculation about Jobs, who in that same letter wrote, "I will be the first one to step up and tell our board of directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple's CEO."