Steve Jobs is taking another leave from Apple

Steve Jobs has on again off again health issues for years now and earlier last year he took an extended 6 month leave of absence from Apple for a liver transplant. He returned to Apple in June 2010 and has been getting healthier and healthier with each public appearance, or so we thought.

It has recently been reported by many news services that he just took another extended leave from Apple for health reasons. BusinessWire has released this email that was sent out to all the Apple employees:

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

So now the speculation begins. What is wrong? Is it serious? Will he actually be back? These are all questions that we have no answers to and it would be insensitive and foolish to try and speculate on. Instead, we will wish him well with his health issues and hopefully his leave won’t affect Apple too much on the stock market.

We will keep an eye on this and report on any real and relevant news.