Matt Mullenweg says 159 Automattic employees, or ~8.4% of staff, took “generous” severance after disagreeing with WordPress' direction and handling of WP Engine
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg said on Thursday that 159 employees (roughly 8.4% of staff) accepted a severance package …
TechCrunchIvan Mehta
Context & Ripple Effects
The departures came days after Automattic proposed that WP Engine pay 8% of its monthly revenue for a seven-year WordPress trademark deal, which WP Engine declined; the dispute had become an internal test of leadership’s approach to the WordPress ecosystem.
The episode was an early sign of a prolonged organizational rupture: reporting later described a second staff buyout offer, while Automattic subsequently cut 16% of its workforce in a push for greater agility.
First-order effects
Automattic immediately loses 159 employees—about 8.4% of staff—who chose severance rather than remain aligned with the company’s direction on WordPress and WP Engine.
The exits concentrate pressure on remaining teams to carry out Automattic’s WordPress strategy while maintaining products and community-facing work.
Second-order effects
A voluntary exit mechanism gives Automattic a way to reduce internal dissent, but it also makes retention and hiring harder where candidates weigh the company’s handling of the WP Engine conflict.
The public workforce split adds operational weight to a dispute already defined by Automattic’s proposed trademark-revenue arrangement, increasing scrutiny from WordPress-adjacent businesses that depend on stable ecosystem governance.
Third-order effects
If repeated, personnel churn and later cost reductions could shift Automattic toward a smaller organization more tightly aligned with Mullenweg’s strategy, at the cost of broader internal consensus.
The episode underscores a durable governance risk in open-source ecosystems: control over trademarks and project infrastructure can turn commercial disputes into disputes over contributor trust and institutional legitimacy.
The trend: This is one data point in the growing collision between open-source project stewardship, trademark control, and the commercial companies built around shared platforms.
Automattic (and Matt) offered a buyout package to employees who didn't “align” with him and his actions. $30,000 or 6 months salary, whichever is higher. — A total of 159 people took the offer, which is 8.4% of the company, including one person who had joined just two days ear…
Have you heard about @automattic's alignment offer? I stay! And so do 91.6% of our teammates. To the friends who left, thank you for everything you brought to our team! To @photomatt, thank you for offering everyone the financial freedom to stand by their choice.
i stayed. i believe in wordpress, open source, and my colleagues at @automattic. i get to work on projects that help transpose millions of people's ideas into reality. that matters to me. big time. it's more than just a job. it's a passion. and there's good work to be
These have been the wildest two weeks that I have worked at @automattic in the six years that I have been here. Feeling excited about the future, can't wait for what comes next! https://ma.tt/...
Out of respect to staff (and I'm not and never have been employed by A8C, and I have never applied for any role) but I wouldn't have shared/made this public. I get why you did. Though a lot of things that I get are left between me and my fridge. #WordPress
the offer was so generous, even though i align, i was tempted to take it. but i stayed. i'm part of the team that is tirelessly building the next great chat app. we have work to do.
It has been challenging weeks but today was the hardest day for me (and for my colleagues). I respect their decision to leave as much as I hate seeing them go. Seriously, I've only met amazingly creative and wonderful talent at Automattic.
What a surreal end to a sabbatical. I'm not leaving, but I'll come back to a place missing people, friends and teammates who chose to leave. If I didn't get a chance to say farewell to those who left, thank you for all the amazing contributions to Automattic and WordPress over
It's been heartbreaking to see so many great people leave 💔 but I'm staying because there's never been a more important time for the open source mission to succeed. Here's the latest from @photomatt on the why 159 folks have left @automattic 👇 https://ma.tt/...