Despite an earlier assurance that his long-rumored health problems boiled down to a simple hormonal imbalance, Steve Jobs announced on Wednesday that he would take a leave of absence from Apple until June in order to focus on his health.
In a letter addressed to Apple employees, Jobs explained that the health problems he had made public earlier in January not as cut and dry as he had thought. “During the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought,” Jobs wrote. The letter did not mention to what degree things had taken a degree for the worse, or what treatments might lay ahead.
Jobs also cited the newfound curiosity in his health as a reason for his leave, calling it a “distraction” for him, his family, and even other Apple employees.
Jobs has placed Apple’s chief operating officer Tim Cook in charge while he leaves, who also held the post back in 2004 when Jobs underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer.
