Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on 'Leave of Absence'
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Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress, wrote in a company-wide Slack messages on Wednesday, viewed by 404 Media, that board members "conspired" behind his back to vote to put him on leave.

> Mullenweg is the founder of Automattic, the company that owns WordPress, Tumblr, Pocket Casts, and a host of other popular internet brands and pieces of software. Mullenweg has faced several controversies over his management of the company in recent years.

> On a company-wide Slack this morning, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg announced he has been put on a paid leave of absence. […] He continued, writing that Mark Davies, current Automattic Chief Financial Officer, has “conspired” with Automattic Board of Directors members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker “behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that.”

  • colourlessidea@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    21·
    18 hours ago

    For the last few years, Mullenweg has waged a divisive legal battle with WP Engine, sparing publicly with opponents and peers on social media and in his personal blog. In 2024, he made an “Alignment Offer,” giving Automattic employees who disagreed with his stances the option to take six months of pay or $30,000, whichever was higher, with the stipulation that they would lose access to their work logins that same evening and would not be eligible for rehire.

    One hundred and fifty-nine people took the offer and left. He then made another buyout offer, and threatened employees who spoke to the press with termination, saying, “exit gracefully, or be fired tomorrow with no severance.”

    Most recently, Automattic attempted to claim it owns the word “automatic.”