Steve Jobs is back on the job as CEO of Apple Inc., and the company has made it official. Mr. Jobs took a six month leave of absence from Apple in January, and reports of Mr. Jobs being back on his company's Cupertino campus began circulating last week. Today's news makes it official.
"Steve is back to work," a spokesperson for Apple told Bloomberg. "Jobs is at Apple a few days a week and working from home the rest of the time. We are very glad to have him back."
Mr. Jobs's leave of absence began and ended with at least some small measure of controversy. When he first announced he was taking a medical leave of absence if followed months of speculation about his health sparked by signs significant weight loss.
Early in January, Mr. Jobs said he was battling a hormone deficiency that was keeping him from absorbing nutrients, and a few days later he announced he was taking a six month leave of absence in order to focus on his health, and to keep his health from being a distraction to his company.
Late in June, as the six-month period was coming to an end, it was reported that he had gotten a liver transplant in Tennessee, news later confirmed by the hospital where the transplant took place.
That news sparked yet another round of speculation about why he needed the transplant, and whether it was related to the pancreatic cancer Mr. Jobs had undergone surgery for in 2004.
Shares in Apple traded lower in Monday trading, closing at US$141.97 per share, a loss of $0.47 (-0.33%). The news broke after the trading session ended, and AAPL has since drifted slightly lower still in after-hours trading, currently at $141.90 per share, down seven cents.