Apple Says Steve Jobs Is Taking Another Leave Of Absence To ‘Focus On [His] Health’

Apple Inc. released a statement today that its CEO Steve Jobs is taking a leave of absence to address some medical issues. This is roughly a year and a half since Jobs had returned to work after successfully undergoing a liver transplant.

The New York Times reports:

“At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health,” he said in a statement to the Apple staff released by the company. “I will continue as C.E.O. and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.”

The statement continued: “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.”

Rumors of Jobs health have been a hot topic of online discussion over the last few years, and the issue came up again when Jobs did not attend last week’s announcement of the iPhone joining the Verizon network. Apple’s stock prices in foreign markets appeared to drop slightly on the news.

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