Automattic lays off 16% of its staff, CEO Matt Mullenweg says to become “more agile and responsive”; ahead of the layoffs, its website listed 1,744 employees
· — Earlier today, CEO Matt Mullenweg shared … Business Today : WordPress parent Automattic lays off 16% of its employees amid legal and market challenges Emma Roth / The Verge : WordPress.com owner Automattic is laying off 16 percent of workers Suhasini Srinivasaragavan / Silicon Republic : WordPress creator Automattic lays off 16pc of its workforce Pixy Misa / Ace of Spades HQ : Daily Tech News 3 March 2025 Roger Montti / Search Engine Journal : Automattic Terminates 16% Of Workforce Moneycontrol : WordPress' parent company to lay off hundreds of employees, read CEO's memo Bluesky: Zach Holman / @holman : automattic.com/2025/04/02/r... Honestly, amazing to start a blog post out with “while our revenue continues to grow” and then announce layoffs in the next paragraph. They never fire the idiots who hired the “bad employees” in the first place, tho. @jcoglan : speaking of stupid moves, matt spent half of last year tanking wordpress' reputation and is now firing 16% of his company to protect its “long term future” automattic.com/2025/04/02/r... Chris Wiegman / @chriswiegman.com : I can't say I'm surprised to see this, given the decline of #WordPress, but I do feel for the folks affected. — What I am surprised about is that Matt didn't use it to take another idiotic shot directly at WPE by blaming them. automattic.com/2025/04/02/r... Stan Bonev / @stanb : Any CEO, who needs to lay off >10%, should have to resign. — Along with COO, CFO, CTO, whatever Os they have... Ernie Smith / @ernie.tedium.co : This Automattic news really gives weight to the folks who thought that the whole battle with WP Engine was a backdoor strategy to shrink the company. automattic.com/2025/04/02/r... Mastodon: @zachleat@fediverse.zachleat.com : Thinking about Matt's claim that Automattic's recent tantrums were *not* motivated by financial difficulties as they laid off 16% of their workforce yesterday. — https://techcrunch.com/... https://x.com/... I'm sure it's still unrelated. George Hotelling / @george@a2mi.social : In TechCrunch's photo Matt is wearing a $160,000 watch. — https://techcrunch.com/... X: Robert DeVore / @deviorobert : [image] Paul Little Snout / @pmusolino : Today was my last day at Automattic due to layoffs. Reflecting on five amazing years filled with growth, collaboration, and global experiences. I'm grateful for the journey and excited for new opportunities ahead. If you're looking for passionate iOS expertise, let's connect! @automattic : Earlier today, CEO Matt Mullenweg shared the following note with Automattic employees. We are deeply grateful to all departing Automatticians. https://automattic.com/... @cameronjonesweb : I thought they were understaffed after the mass resignations triggered by the alignment offer 🤔 They really gambled their entire business on extorting a competitor didn't they Nagesh Pai / @nagpai : Time for a new adventure. The next season. Thank you @automattic 🙏🏼🙌🏼 ❤️ Rich Tabor / @richard_tabor : today is one of those hard ones; certainly feeling the weight of it. grateful to have worked alongside some of you. you probably taught me something—whether you knew it or not. thank you. hopeful for what's ahead at @automattic: → becoming more agile and responsive. → Renato Augusto / @renatoagds : Today is one of the hard days. Was impacted by the layoff. Btw, open to new opportunities. Ryan Duff / @ryancduff : Bad day to be an @automattic employee while the decisions of MCM continue to run the company into the ground. 16% or roughly 1/6th being let go... @photomatt was bragging about hiring and expanding after the voluntary buy-outs a few months ago. https://x.com/... [image] LinkedIn: Paolo Musolino : Today marks an important and somewhat bittersweet moment in my career, as it was my last day at Automattic. … Forums: r/technology : WordPress.com owner Automattic is laying off 16 percent of workers r/Wordpress : Automattic Restructuring Announcement (16% to be laid off)
Context & Ripple Effects
This is a further contraction after Automattic said 159 employees accepted severance over disagreement with the company’s WordPress direction in October 2024. Reports shortly afterward of another buyout offer for staff made workforce alignment a visible issue before the broader reduction.
The significance is not simply headcount: Automattic is the parent of WordPress.com, so a company-wide push for agility can affect the teams and priorities surrounding a major web-publishing platform.
First-order effects
- Automattic immediately reduces its workforce by 16%, shrinking the organization CEO Matt Mullenweg will manage and leaving remaining teams to absorb responsibilities.
- The move formalizes a cost and operating reset after the earlier voluntary exits, with affected employees facing job loss rather than an optional severance path.
Second-order effects
- Remaining product, support, and WordPress.com teams will have to reprioritize work around fewer people; customers may see the consequences in which initiatives receive attention, rather than in any announced product change.
- The additional reduction reinforces uncertainty created by the earlier staff departures tied to disagreements over WordPress direction, making retention and hiring more consequential for Automattic’s specialized teams.
Third-order effects
- If repeated, the pattern would shift Automattic toward a smaller organization with leadership exercising tighter control over strategy and staffing, potentially narrowing the capacity available for parallel commercial and ecosystem work.
- For the WordPress ecosystem, the longer-term question is whether corporate restructuring alters the balance between Automattic’s business priorities and stewardship of shared open-source infrastructure; this report alone does not establish that outcome.
The trend: This is one data point in the consolidation of platform companies as strategic conflict and market pressure translate into leaner operating models.