Automattic’s Matt Mullenweg Claims He’s Back 'In Control'
Workers at Automattic, which owns WordPress.com and several other platforms, have said the company has endured years of chaotic leadership decisions.
Less than 48 hours after Automattic's board placed Matt Mullenweg on leave of absence, he claimed he had returned to "control" of the company in a company-wide Slack message. According to screenshots from Slack, Mullenweg wrote "Don't call it a comeback" and linked to LL Cool J's music video for "Mama Said Knock You Out." His profile picture that day featured him in a pirate hat and eyepatch.
TechCrunch reported Mullenweg's comments about regaining control of Automattic. In a company-wide announcement, Mullenweg said the board had agreed and that he was back in charge. He added that some of the events that occurred over the past couple of days might have been misunderstandings, stating that he holds respect for those involved.
Mark Davies, Automattic's CFO, whose account was deactivated as of Friday, sources told 404 Media and TechCrunch. Both Davies and Mullenweg did not respond to requests for comment. On Friday morning, Mullenweg published a blog post on his personal website titled "Major Life Announcement." In it, he announced he would be purchasing a tugboat.
He mentioned that while one can find the perfect person to handle a company, the original owner usually loves it the most. However, he did not address the confusion regarding his current status at Automattic. Over the past two years, employees have described Automattic's leadership under Mullenweg as chaotic, unstable, and rife with misunderstandings, including layoffs, loyalty checks, rage-quitting, trolling, and watermarking messages to track potential leakers.
The Automattic board has not communicated anything to employees other than their initial Slack post on Wednesday, sources told 404 Media.
Written by urgent.news from 404 Media's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
