TechCrunch cites internal message screenshots and two informed sources stating that WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg has informed employees within Automattic's Slack that he has regained control of this WordPress.com parent company. Just a few days ago, the board of directors voted to remove him from his position, but the reasons have not yet been made public.
Automattic has not yet made an official response to this. Mullenweg stated to the media that they will subsequently publish a blog post to explain the situation. This means that there is still a lack of public confirmation from the board of directors as to whether control of the company has been restored.
The board of directors arranged for a vacation for them a few days ago.
On Wednesday, at Slack, he stated to the employees that board members had voted without his knowledge to arrange for him to take paid leave. According to him, Automattic, the Chief Financial Officer Mark Davies was subsequently appointed as a temporary CEO.
Automattic The spokesperson had previously confirmed with TechCrunch that Mullenweg was indeed on vacation at that time, and Davies served as the temporary CEO.
Latest statement claims re-control has been regained
According to the latest Slack post seen via TechCrunch, Mullenweg writes that the board of directors has "reached a consensus again." He has regained control of Automattic and mentioned that a lot has happened in the past 48 hours that needs further clarification. He also expressed his hope that most of it was just a misunderstanding.
The report mentioned that he also attached a link to the song “Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J. So far, TechCrunch has not received any official confirmation from the board of directors to the employees.
Internal signals still appear chaotic.
According to informed sources, the Slack account of Mark Davies has been suspended. Other reports indicate that Mullenweg previously removed all administrators from Automattic Slack and posted a post related to "pirates" with unusually phrased language. This makes it difficult for outsiders to determine whether the current changes represent an official management adjustment or an escalation of personal behavior.
After being suddenly replaced, Mullenweg continued to speak out on Reddit and X, indicating that he would not accept this decision. He also stated that things "are not as they seem on the surface" and expressed the need for system administrators and security researchers to assist in migrating some personal assets hosted on Automattic.
The dispute has escalated to a legal litigation context.
Mullenweg also hinted on social media that private equity firm Silver Lake might be involved in this matter. Silver Lake is a major shareholder of custodian company WP Engine, while WP Engine is currently involved in legal disputes with Mullenweg and Automattic.
As of press time, the board of directors of Automattic has not made any public statements regarding the latest arrangements, and the claim by Mullenweg to have "reasserted control over the company" has not been corroborated by any official company documents. The situation is still developing.
