Apple employees have felt Chief Design Officer Jony Ive's absence long before he announced his upcoming departure from the company last week, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

Ive, who had helped design some of Apple's most memorable products, from the iPod to the Apple Watch, had been checked out of daily operations for a long time, according to the Journal. Ive grew disappointed by the more operational focus of top leadership under CEO Tim Cook, people who worked on Apple's design team told the Journal.

The Journal story paints a picture that Ive was largely checked out from his duties at Apple, skipping design meetings and spending time at his homes in San Francisco, Hawaii and the U.K.

In an email provided to NBC News reporter Dylan Byers on Monday, Cook said the Journal story was "absurd."

"At a base level, it shows a lack of understanding about how the design team works and how Apple works," Cook wrote in the note.

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Ive had a close relationship with Cook's predecessor, Steve Jobs, with whom he often ate and discussed ideas, the Journal reported. Cook, who comes from an engineering background, aimed to keep Ive content with a lofty title and large salary, the Journal reported, but Ive continued to keep his distance from the office.