APPLE FOUNDER and chief executive Steve Jobs has announced he is to take a “a medical leave of absence until the end of June” following months of speculation about his health.
He will remain chief executive and have an involvement in “major strategic decisions” but the iPhone maker’s chief operations officer, Tim Cook, will run the company on a day-to-day basis.
Mr Jobs, who received treatment for pancreatic cancer in 2004, failed to deliver his customary keynote speech at Macworld in San Francisco last week.
Following a small number of public appearances in 2008 where he looked extremely gaunt, this led to much speculation about his health. The day before Macworld, he revealed that he is suffering from a hormone imbalance.
This, he said, was “robbing” his body of the proteins it needs to be healthy. In last week’s open letter, he said he intended to continue as Apple’s chief executive during his recovery.
An e-mail sent to all Apple staff on Wednesday – and subsequently released by the computer maker – said that Mr Jobs had learnt in the last week that his “health-related issues are more complex” than originally thought.
Mr Jobs also conceded that “curiosity” over his personal health “continues to be a distraction, not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well”.
Apple’s statement was released on Wednesday evening, just after the US markets closed.
In after-hours trading, investors reacted badly to what was seen as backtracking on last week’s assurances that Mr Jobs would remain at the helm.
Apple’s stock dropped almost 10 per cent but regained some of those losses when normal trading resumed yesterday. At lunchtime in New York, Apple traded at $81.48, 4.5 per cent down on the previous night’s close.
Industry analysts had mixed views on the announcement.
“We believe that the corporate strategy that Jobs implemented, including a strong emphasis on product design, will remain intact, as Jobs will still be making strategic decisions,” UBS analyst Maynard Um wrote in a research note.
“We believe the leadership team Jobs assembled is more than capable to continue to execute the strategy both near and long term.”
Although Mr Cook deputised for Mr Jobs during his cancer treatment in 2004, investors and analysts are concerned that there does not seem to be a clear succession plan at the Californian company.
Citing the uncertainty, RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky cut his rating on Apple shares to “underperform” from “sector perform”, and slashed his price target to $70 from $125.
(Additional reporting: Reuters)
