Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automattic—widely recognized as the owner of WordPress.com—has been placed on a forced leave of absence by his board, as revealed in a Slack message accessed by TechCrunch.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mullenweg communicated in a Slack channel visible to all staff that Chief Financial Officer Mark Davies had “colluded” with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker to vote for his paid leave.
The message stated:
And the biggest news: I won’t be able to make the [meeting] tomorrow. @Mark Davies has conspired with @Ann Dunwoody, @Toni, and @Sue Decker behind my back and they voted to put me on a paid leave of absence. I voted against that. Wishing Mark and all of you the very best.
To clarify @Mark Davies was voted as interim CEO. I received the resolution 50 minutes before the meeting start, and requested repeatedly for time to have it reviewed by independent legal counsel, even a few hours, which was denied.
A message from Mary Hubbard, the executive director of the WordPress.org project, also confirmed Mullenweg’s status change. However, Hubbard assured that WordPress.org would remain unaffected. “Matt is still leading the WordPress project, and I will continue as Executive Director of WordPress. Our operations, priorities, and projects are ongoing,” she stated.
Mullenweg’s message did not clarify the reasons behind the board’s decision. Sources indicated to 404 Media, the first outlet to report on the situation, that Schneider, who served as CEO of Automattic from 2006 to 2014, confirmed the board’s initiation of this action. Davies also informed staff in the Slack thread that Mullenweg would retain his position on the board of directors.
In an official statement, Automattic acknowledged Mullenweg’s leave status.
“Matt Mullenweg is currently on leave from Automattic,” the statement read. “Mark Davies, Automattic’s CFO, will serve as interim CEO. The Board fully supports Mark’s leadership and trusts the team to adhere to the company’s priorities.”
Founded by Mullenweg in 2003, Automattic also owns other brands such as Tumblr, WooCommerce, and Pocket Casts, thanks to his co-creation of the widely-used open-source content management system WordPress.
In recent years, Mullenweg and Automattic have faced numerous lawsuits and controversy. A significant legal case exists against WP Engine, a rival WordPress web hosting service. The litigious dispute arose after Mullenweg accused WP Engine of benefitting from the open-source WordPress project without contributing back, demanding 8% of its monthly gross revenue as a royalty for using the WordPress name.
In October 2024, WP Engine countersued, claiming defamation and misuse of authority by Automattic and Mullenweg. Automattic responded with counterclaims in the previous year. In February, WP Engine alleged that Automattic was looking to target an additional 10 competitors with similar royalty claims.
Under Mullenweg’s leadership, tensions reached a peak when he suggested that employees who disagreed with him could quit, resulting in 159 resignations.
Last year, Mullenweg also threatened to shut down the accounts of several individuals in the open-source WordPress.org community after two announced plans to lead a new fork of the open-source project.
In April 2025, the company executed layoffs affecting 16% of its workforce, including several long-term employees who had been with the organization for over a decade, as reported by sources.
Some former employees have been reaching out to current staff to gauge their reactions to the news, with reports indicating that while some employees felt “ecstatic” or “relieved,” others expressed concern regarding increased instability from this decision.
The exact reasoning for the board’s timing on this matter remains unclear. One theory suggests that it may relate to Mullenweg’s annual attendance at the Burning Man festival, known for inspiring new ideas when he returns—this year concluding on September 7.
Mullenweg did not provide immediate comments when approached for a response.
