Apple reject demands for Steve Jobs succession plan

Apple Inc shareholders rejected demands that the company disclose a succession plan for ailing chief Steve Jobs, and the company kept mum on how many had backed that proposal.

The reluctance to reveal details of the vote on a proposal by the Central Laborers' Pension Fund raised speculation that a sizable contingent of shareholders may have supported it, and prompted an affiliated group to push for more disclosure.

"It appears likely that a large number of long-term, institutional shareholders voted in its favor," the Laborers' International Union of North America said in a statement following the meeting.

The fate of Apple, among the world's most powerful technology companies, is tied to how the iPhone and iPad maker handles the eventual departure of its iconic co-founder and leader.

Jobs in January took a third medical leave for unknown reasons, with many not expecting him to return to lead the company he founded in 1976.