Steve Jobs' health risk to Apple

David Heath
Tuesday, 18 January 2011 08:52

IT People - Enterprise

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is again sick and has taken 'medical leave' to deal with the problem.  Coming so soon after his April 2009 liver transplant, the world is clearly concerned that Steve is in serious danger.  This has already had a detrimental effect on the company with stocks immediately trading down in Europe.

Overnight, Steve Jobs emailed all Apple employees to say that he will again be taking medical leave:

Team,

At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve

Jobs' liver transplant, and the associated medical leave commenced almost exactly 2 years ago, on January 14th and although the earlier message to staff offered a specific time for his return (summer of that year), this time there is no such good news, other than to say, "... hope to be back as soon as I can."  Speculation is rife that the reason for the leave of absence may be related to either organ rejection or further progression of his 2004-diagnosed pancreatic cancer.

With the US market closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. public holiday, it was left to European markets to assess the news - Apple was trading down as much as 6% on the German exchange; clearly investors are worried that Apple without Steve Jobs is a much weaker proposition.

iTWire wishes Steve Jobs every success in this new battle and our best hopes for a speedy recovery.