On Tuesday, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg caused a stir in the WordPress community with a blog post announcing the layoffs of 281 employees, or 16% of Automattic’s workforce. 1
Employees were first informed via internal message before the news was made public later in the day on Automattic’s website. While acknowledging continued revenue growth, he cited competitive pressures and rapid technological change as key factors requiring restructuring.
Affected employees will receive severance packages, keep their company laptops and have access to job placement resources, according to the announcement.
Layoffs aren’t usually celebrated, but most of the responses received to this announcement seemed particularly angry – due to the negative attitude already built up towards Matt in the wake of #wpdrama. On the other hand, there has also been a huge outpouring of support for the Automattic employees who were laid off. Let’s take a closer look.
How the Web reacts
As I just mentioned, the announcement sparked varied reactions across social media platforms, with many current and former employees sharing their experiences and perspectives.
Employees and associates give their opinion
On LinkedIn, Oli Griffiths, Senior Principal PHP Engineer at Tumblr, expressed his disappointment:
Oli’s observation that the severance packages he and others are receiving are nowhere near as generous as those Matt offered those who chose to leave last year was shared by several others.
Among them was Kellie Peterson, who identifies herself as an administrator of a Slack instance of Automattic Alumni. She offered a particularly pointed critique that questioned Mullenweg’s leadership abilities and encouraged companies to hire the talent now available:
Christopher S., developer at Automattic, shared his surprise at being included in the removals:
As news of the layoffs spread, some members of the WordPress community quickly began highlighting opportunities for those affected. Oliver Sild, CEO of Patchstack, commented on Kellie Peterson’s LinkedIn post, in which he specifically mentioned that Patchstack was looking for PHP/Laravel developers with WordPress experience:
The employee blog offers deeper context
Anne McCarthy, a long-time Automattic employee, published a blog post titled “Learn More About Who’s Affected by Automattic’s Downsizing” that provides valuable context on the capabilities of those affected. 2
In his article, McCarthy noted that working at Automattic requires “continuous learning, a strong ability to synthesize and share relevant information, a deep sense of shared ownership, and the ability to collaborate openly across cultures and teams.”
She described her former colleagues as “enterprising and adaptable, lifelong learners and extremely creative problem solvers” who “take deep ownership of their work and also want to help those around them thrive.”
Her post is both a tribute to her former colleagues and a resource for employers looking for talent – she invited hiring managers to comment if they have any relevant vacancies.
A difficult time to enter the job market
For Automattic employees based in the United States, this transition comes during a particularly difficult time in the job market. The federal government recently cut hundreds of thousands of positions across many agencies, flooding the candidate pool in many sectors.
While federal jobs don’t perfectly overlap with tech roles at Automattic, the overall contraction in the job market adds another layer of difficulty for those seeking new positions. Since January 2025, more than 200,000 federal employees in more than a dozen agencies have been laid off, and another 75,000 have agreed to be let go. 3 4
Technology positions exist across all industries, including government, which means competition for open positions can be fiercer than usual, even for talent specializing in WordPress and web development.
What’s next for those affected
Automattic’s announcement noted that affected employees would receive “a comprehensive package covering severance and benefits,” as well as retention of company laptops and access to job placement resources.
McCarthy’s blog post also offers to help with professional relationships, writing: “For all you ex-Automaticians, I’m here to help you repost your job shares, make whatever introductions I can, and pass on the jobs I see.” »
The tech community’s rapid response to job postings suggests that many companies recognize the opportunity to bring in experienced talent from a company known for its high standards and innovative approach to remote work.
Looking to the future
Mullenweg said he was confident that Automattic would “emerge from this situation in a better position,” focusing on creating “a dynamic, profitable, well-designed company” that would continue its mission of democratizing the Internet.
For affected employees across 90 countries, the immediate future involves a major career transition as the technology industry closely monitors the impact of Automattic’s restructuring on its products and market position.
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