The tech industry was rocked on September 9, 2026, when Automattic—the commercial powerhouse behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, and Pocket Casts—announced that co-founder and long-time CEO Matt Mullenweg had been placed on an involuntary paid leave of absence. Chief Financial Officer Mark Davies has been appointed as interim CEO. While Automattic’s board of directors has remained tight-lipped regarding the precise catalysts behind the decision, internal leaks and mounting public controversies suggest a profound fracture at the highest levels of the web’s infrastructure giant.

The move marks a historic turning point for a company that underpins a vast swath of the modern internet. Mullenweg, who has steered Automattic since 2014 and co-founded the enterprise, finds himself sidelined in what is ostensibly a temporary administrative maneuver. However, the exact boundaries between Automattic as a commercial entity and WordPress as an open-source project have created a complex geopolitical landscape within the tech community, separating the corporate boardroom drama from the foundational software used by millions worldwide.

Main Facts: The Anatomy of the Ouster

The unprecedented boardroom shuffle came to light following internal communications leaked to the media, notably 404 Media, which detailed a dramatic showdown within Automattic’s Slack channels.

According to Mullenweg’s account to employees, CFO Mark Davies allegedly "conspired" with select board members—namely Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker—to orchestrate his removal. When the resolution was brought to a vote, Mullenweg reportedly cast the sole dissenting vote, while the rest of the board pushed the motion through. Mullenweg claimed he was handed the resolution a mere 50 minutes before the formal meeting and that his request for independent legal counsel to review the terms was summarily denied.

Automattic has confirmed Mullenweg’s leave and Davies’s interim appointment, though the company has declined to publicly validate Mullenweg’s claims of a conspiracy. In a starkly brief statement issued to tech publications, Automattic expressed full confidence in Davies and the executive team to maintain the company’s ongoing strategic priorities.

Despite being stripped of his executive duties, Mullenweg retains his seat on Automattic’s board of directors and—crucially—continues to lead the independent open-source WordPress project.

Summary of Leadership Status at Automattic & WordPress

Chronology of Crisis: From Legal Battles to Boardroom Coup

While Automattic has not explicitly linked Mullenweg’s removal to the company’s recent turbulent history, observers note that the ouster follows a grueling two-year period marked by intense legal, structural, and cultural upheaval.

September 2024: The WP Engine Explosion

The friction points trace back publicly to September 2024, when Mullenweg launched a blistering public crusade against WP Engine, a premier managed WordPress hosting provider. Mullenweg accused the company of unfairly profiting from the open-source WordPress ecosystem while contributing disproportionately little back to its core development. He also heavily criticized WP Engine’s commercialization of the WordPress trademark.

The public feud quickly escalated into aggressive technical blocks, restricting WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org resources. By October 2024, WP Engine filed a multi-count federal lawsuit against Automattic and Mullenweg personally, citing defamation, tortious interference, and abuse of power. Automattic fired back with countersuits, setting off a bitter legal war that remains unresolved.

December 2024: The ACF Battle and Judicial Intervention

The hostility peaked over Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), a wildly popular plugin maintained by WP Engine. Automattic’s aggressive maneuvers regarding the plugin forced judicial intervention. In December 2024, a U.S. federal judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering Automattic and Mullenweg to reverse coercive measures taken against WP Engine.

Internal Exodus and Workforce Reductions

The fallout extended deep inside Automattic’s corporate walls. In 2024, amid mounting philosophical divides over Mullenweg’s aggressive leadership style and public campaigns, management offered a voluntary exit package to employees who disagreed with the company’s trajectory. A staggering 159 employees accepted the buyout and left. This was followed in April 2025 by a broader corporate restructuring that resulted in layoffs impacting roughly 16% of Automattic’s total workforce.

Rumors have also swirled regarding the timing of the board’s intervention, with sources speculating to trade outlets that the decision may have been finalized immediately following Mullenweg’s return from the annual Burning Man festival on September 7, 2026. However, no official evidence links the timing of his absence at the festival to the board’s vote.

Supporting Data: The Split Between Corporation and Community

For the millions of developers, agencies, and enterprise web administrators who rely on WordPress every day, the single most critical nuance in this unfolding drama is the legal and structural separation between Automattic and the WordPress open-source project.

• Automattic is a privately held commercial software company. It builds and monetizes proprietary and commercial services built around the ecosystem, including WordPress.com (a hosted publishing platform), WooCommerce (the dominant e-commerce plugin), Tumblr, and Pocket Casts.
• WordPress (WordPress.org) is an open-source content management system governed by a decentralized community of contributors, developers, and foundations, historically steered by Mullenweg in his capacity as project co-founder.

Recognizing the potential panic within the developer community, Mary Hubbard, Executive Director of the WordPress project, immediately issued an official reassurance. Hubbard clarified to the community that Automattic’s internal governance changes have no bearing on the open-source project, confirming that development teams, roadmap priorities, and day-to-day operations remain entirely unaffected.

Furthermore, interim CEO Mark Davies assured Automattic employees that despite his removal from day-to-day corporate operations, Mullenweg will retain a voice in strategic discussions through his continued presence on the board of directors.

Official Responses and Stakeholder Positions

The official narrative surrounding Mullenweg’s suspension highlights a stark contrast between corporate discretion and internal turmoil:

• The Board of Directors: Opted for absolute operational silence regarding the foundational motives of the suspension. By installing CFO Mark Davies as interim CEO, the board has signaled a desire for financial stability and administrative calm amidst ongoing litigation.
• Matt Mullenweg: Through his Slack disclosures, Mullenweg has positioned himself as the victim of a calculated boardroom coup executed behind his back by close associates (Davies, Dunwoody, Schneider, and Decker) who refused him adequate legal representation before the vote.
• Automattic Corporate Communications: Released concise, highly sanitized confirmations acknowledging the leadership transition while publicly sidestepping the allegations of conspiracy leveled by their ousted co-founder.
• WordPress Foundation / Project Leadership: Maintained absolute operational firewalling, emphasizing that Mullenweg’s status as the face and leader of the core WordPress software remains secure and uncompromised.

Implications: What Lies Ahead for Automattic and WordPress?

The temporary removal of Matt Mullenweg raises profound questions about the future governance of both a major tech corporation and the open web itself.

1. The Legal Front with WP Engine

With Mark Davies—a financial executive rather than a tech evangelist—at the helm, Automattic’s approach to the ongoing litigation with WP Engine could shift. Analysts wonder if an interim leadership team will seek an out-of-court settlement to neutralize legal liabilities that have damaged brand perception and drained company resources.

2. Corporate Culture and Stability

Automattic has weathered significant cultural fractures over the past two years, losing nearly 160 employees to buyouts and executing deep layoffs. Davies faces the monumental task of restoring morale, rebuilding internal trust, and stabilizing a workforce that has watched its visionary founder unceremoniously ousted by the board.

3. The Future of Open-Source Governance

The unique dichotomy of Mullenweg retaining control over WordPress while being barred from running Automattic highlights the fragility of open-source projects tied to commercial entities. While the immediate operational status of WordPress is secure, the long-term governance model will undoubtedly face renewed scrutiny from enterprise users wary of corporate volatility.

As the dust settles from the September 9 boardroom vote, the ultimate trajectory of Automattic hangs in the balance. Whether Mullenweg’s suspension is a temporary cooling-off period or the final chapter of his executive tenure remains one of the most significant open questions in modern web history.