Automattic begins layoffs following board upheaval and executive departures

Automattic, the parent company to WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, and others, has begun layoffs, and insiders tell us they are bracing for more cuts to come.

Over at least the past week, the cuts have impacted its communications team, social team, WordPress.com, and its VIP enterprise business.

The departures represent more turmoil at Automattic, whose team is still reeling from the board’s failed attempt to oust CEO Matt Mullenweg in September, resulting in a complete board turnover and other exec departures, including its CFO, interim CFO, and chief legal officer.

Automattic’s director of communications, Megan Fox, posted about her departure last week on LinkedIn, saying the move was an “unexpected end” and that her role had been “eliminated.”

Meanwhile, after TechCrunch reported that Automattic’s interim CFO Jeremy Klaperman left earlier this month, only weeks after the board shake-up, Mullenweg posted on X suggesting Klaperman may have been “offended” by the company’s decision to seek external candidates to fill the role. (Internally, however, Mullenweg had asked Klaperman to reconsider leaving, we had heard.)

At one point, Mullenweg also shared personal information about one of the recently departed execs in the company’s internal Slack, according to screenshots viewed by TechCrunch. The post was related to a health matter impacting the person’s spouse and claimed that the company was not providing this person with much-needed COBRA insurance. Mullenweg said the exec was threatening to sue over this. Mullenweg also shared that his own fiancée had been impacted by the same health condition. Some employees told us they were shocked that the CEO would share something so private and personal in such a forum.

Throughout this month, TechCrunch has heard from different sources that members of Automattic’s team have also been let go, including those in marketing and product at WordPress.com.

Reached for comment about the layoffs last week, Mullenweg said the terminations were not above its normal numbers. Asked on Wednesday about the growing total, Mullenweg said that today he was “mostly focused on PHP.” (He posted on X about the PHP security issue hitting the internet, which is taking priority.)

The company’s About page lists the total number of staff at 1,397, but insiders tell us that the plan is likely to spread out the layoffs over the months ahead, in the hopes of improving Automattic’s Q4 revenue figures ahead of a debt renegotiation that’s coming up in June.

In a statement shared with TechCrunch, Automattic spokesperson Chenda Ngak said, “We’re staggering our organizational changes to be more generous with severance and allow more time with each Automattician.”

Updated after publication with Automattic’s statement.