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Here is the email that Jobs sent to Apple employees this afternoon:

Team,

I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

Jobs’ health has been in the spotlight for months due to his frail appearance, with speculation running even more rampant after the Apple CEO decided to not give the keynote at this year’s MacWorld. At the time, it was disclosed that Jobs was suffering from a hormone disorder.

Many expect Apple shares, which plunged 7 percent on Wednesday following the announcement, to be stung by the news. But some analysts say Jobs, though he will be missed in the short term, may not be as irreplaceable as many think.

In addition, the developments foreshadowed Jobs permanent departure soon, analysts say, and bolstered Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook’s case as heir apparent.

Anticipation is mounting about the company’s plans for 2009. A cheaper version of Apple’s wildly popular smartphone — dubbed the “iPhone nano” — is widely said to be in the works. In addition, whispers persist that the company is working on some sort of ultra-portable device.

“You can’t really dismiss the idea that if he would be gone from the company it would be a great loss, but there are a lot of innovative minds at Apple,” said Ted Parrish, portfolio manager at the Henssler Equity Fund in Georgia, which owns Apple stock.

“The company is in a great position, its product cycle is strong and we would buy Apple on weakness associated with this news.”

Jobs is universally viewed as the chief creative force behind the company’s line of consumer-friendly products, which include Mac computers, the iPod and the iPhone, and is regarded as a master marketer and pitchman. As such, many fear his departure would deprive the company of its most vital and imaginative resource.

Indeed, Jobs return to Apple a decade ago sparked a period of remarkable growth and creativity, which helped keep Apple one step ahead of rivals in the brutally competitive consumer technology sector. Apple’s product innovations have often laid the blueprint for its competitors to follow.