Matt Mullenweg, founder and CEO of Automattic, the parent company behind WordPress.com, has been placed on paid leave by his company’s board of directors without his consent. In a message to employees via Slack, Mullenweg indicated that board members Mark Davies, Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker voted to impose the leave against his objections. Davies, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, was named interim CEO, while Mullenweg retained his board seat.
The move came swiftly, with Mullenweg claiming he received notice of the board resolution just 50 minutes before the meeting took place. He stated that he requested time to review the decision with independent legal counsel but was denied. Despite the leadership change at Automattic, the WordPress.org open-source project confirmed that operations would continue unaffected, with Mullenweg remaining involved in that capacity.
The board has not publicly disclosed reasons for the decision. The timing follows months of organizational challenges, including a major dispute with WordPress hosting competitor WP Engine over royalty payments, a mass employee departure in 2024 when Mullenweg offered severance to those who disagreed with his direction, and company-wide layoffs affecting 16% of staff this April. Automattic confirmed the leadership transition in a statement expressing confidence in Davies and the company’s ability to maintain operations.
Originally reported by Techcrunch →
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