Automattic's Board Puts Founder Matt Mullenweg on Leave Against His Will

Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automattic — the company behind WordPress.com, Tumblr, WooCommerce and Pocket Casts — has been placed on paid leave by the board of directors. According to a message Mullenweg posted in the company's Slack, seen by TechCrunch, the decision was made against his will.

By the executive's own account, CFO Mark Davies “conspired” with board members Anne Dwane, Tony Schneider and Sue Decker and pushed through a vote to remove him. Mullenweg claims he received the text of the resolution just 50 minutes before the meeting began, and that his repeated requests for even a few hours to seek legal review were denied. He himself voted against it.

Davies has been named interim CEO. In an official statement, Automattic confirmed that Mullenweg is “currently on a leave of absence” and expressed “full confidence” in the new leadership. Mullenweg, however, remains on the board of directors.

WordPress.org unaffected

Mary Hubbard, executive director of the WordPress project, separately stressed that the changes concern only the commercial company. “Matt remains the leader of the WordPress project, and I remain executive director. Our teams, priorities and work continue as planned,” she wrote.

Years of conflict

Over the past several years, scandals and lawsuits have swirled around Mullenweg and the company. Automattic is locked in a drawn-out dispute with hosting provider WP Engine: Mullenweg accused the rival of profiting from the open-source WordPress project while giving nothing back to the community, and demanded that it hand over 8% of its monthly revenue for use of the brand. In October 2024, WP Engine filed a lawsuit accusing Automattic and its head of defamation and abuse of power; the company responded with counterclaims.

In 2024, Mullenweg offered dissenting employees the chance to resign with severance pay — 159 people took him up on it. He also threatened to block the accounts of WordPress.org community members who had announced plans to fork the project. In April 2025, the company cut 16% of its workforce.

Why the board decided to act right now is not clear from the messages. Employees' reactions were mixed: some admitted they were “thrilled” or “relieved,” while others feared a new wave of instability. One of TechCrunch's sources wryly suggested that it had to do with Mullenweg's annual trip to the Burning Man festival, from which he usually returns “full of ideas.” This year the festival ended on September 7.

Source: TechCrunch