Matt Mullenweg Placed on Paid Leave as Automattic CEO
Mark Davies will serve as interim CEO during Mullenweg’s absence, according to a report from The Verge. According to internal messages seen by TechCrunch, Mullenweg accused Mark Davies of working with other board members to vote to put him on paid leave. In a Slack message, he said he had received the resolution 50 minutes before the meeting and had asked for more time to review it, TechCrunch reported.
Mullenweg also stated that he voted against that. He emphasized that Davies had been chosen as interim CEO by a vote. Mullenweg remains on Automattic’s board of directors, according to a message from Davies in the Slack channel.
The company’s leadership has not publicly explained why the board took this action. Automattic was founded by Mullenweg in 2005 after he co-created the open-source WordPress project in 2003. The company has faced legal issues and controversy over recent years.
A lawsuit with WP Engine began after Mullenweg accused the hosting provider of profiting from WordPress without contributing back to the project. WP Engine sued Automattic and Mullenweg in October 2024, claiming defamation and misuse of power. Automattic responded with its own counterclaims last year.
In February, WP Engine alleged Automattic planned to target ten more competitors with royalty claims. Tensions under Mullenweg’s leadership grew so intense that he told employees in 2024 they could quit with severance if they disagreed with him. One hundred fifty-nine employees took him up on the offer.
Some of those employees later said they planned to start a new version of WordPress. In April 2025, Automattic laid off about sixteen percent of its workforce. The layoffs included some longtime staff members who had worked for the company for over a decade.
Some former employees have asked current staff how they feel about the recent developments. Opinions among current workers vary, with some expressing relief and others noting increased uncertainty. It remains unclear why the board made this decision now.
Mullenweg did not respond to requests for comment from TechCrunch. He posted a humorous tweet shortly after the announcement, asking what he had missed during the day. The company owns several other brands including Tumblr, WooCommerce, and Pocket Casts.
Mullenweg’s leave comes amid a broader decline in WordPress’s market share and attendance at WordCamp events. The plugin ecosystem for WordPress is also facing challenges, including reduced user numbers and AI-related vulnerabilities. Mullenweg’s actions have drawn criticism from the community, especially after his dispute with WP Engine.
The situation has led to a loss of confidence in Automattic’s leadership and direction. Despite the controversy, Mullenweg continues to lead the WordPress open-source project. Mary Hubbard, who leads the WordPress community as its executive director, said their teams are continuing their work as planned.
IMAGE: Matt Mullenweg at WordCamp Europe 2013 in Leiden, The Netherlands
You can use this images for free. But a link to the source: http://computer-oiger.de/2013/10/07/wordcamp-europe-2013/25070 – I would be happy :). Photo: Ronny Siegel / Wikimedia, taken 2013-10-06, CC BY 3.0