Automattic's board forces CEO Matt Mullenweg into leave of absence
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Automattic 的创始人兼首席执行官 Matt Mullenweg 已被公司董事会强制休假。 Mullenweg（广为人知的 WordPress 联合创始人）在发给员工的 Slack 消息中披露了这一决定，并称这是由首席财务官 Mark Davies 联合董事会成员 Ann Dunwoody 、 Toni Schneider 和 Sue Decker 策划的阴谋。他表示，在投票前几乎没有收到通知，且在请求更多时间以咨询法律顾问时被拒绝。
Automattic 已确认了这次休假，但未对董事会的决定给出具体理由。 Mark Davies 被任命为临时 CEO，董事会对他的领导表示充分信任。尽管高管职务发生变动，Mullenweg 仍是董事会成员。与此同时，开源项目 WordPress.org 似乎未受此次公司人事变动影响。执行董事 Mary Hubbard 向社区保证，项目的运作、团队和战略优先事项将照常推进，项目本身仍由 Mullenweg 领导。
此番内部动荡正值公司面临重大公开与法律压力之际。长期以来，Automattic 与网络托管竞争对手 WP Engine 有着激烈的法律纠纷，冲突在 Mullenweg 指控对方在未做出相应贡献的情况下从开源 WordPress 品牌中获利后升级。双方互相提起诉讼，涉及诽谤、滥用职权和商标不当使用等指控。
公司内部压力可谓显而易见，导致组织氛围不稳。此前，Mullenweg 鼓励对其处理 WP Engine 事件不满的员工选择带遣散费离职，该建议导致 159 人离开公司。此外，公司在 2025 年 4 月进行了 16% 的裁员，其中包括很多资深员工的离开。
业界观察者和前员工目前正试图应对由这次领导层变动带来的不确定性。据报道，一些员工对这一消息表示宽慰，但也有人对公司未来的更广泛影响感到担忧。到目前为止，董事会突然采取行动的具体触发因素尚未公开，外界纷纷猜测此事与 Mullenweg 刚从年度 Burning Man festival 返回的时机有关。
Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automattic, has been placed on a mandatory leave of absence by the company's board. Mullenweg, who is widely known as the co-creator of WordPress, revealed the decision in a Slack message to employees, characterizing the move as a conspiracy orchestrated by Chief Financial Officer Mark Davies along with board members Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker. He noted that he was given very little notice before the vote and was denied a request for additional time to consult with legal counsel.
While Automattic confirmed the leave of absence, the company did not provide specific reasons for the board's decision. Mark Davies has been appointed to step in as the interim CEO, and the board has expressed full confidence in his leadership. Despite the change in executive status, Mullenweg remains a member of the board of directors. Meanwhile, the open-source WordPress.org project appears to be insulated from these corporate shifts. Executive Director Mary Hubbard assured the community that the project's operations, teams, and strategic priorities would continue as planned under Mullenweg's ongoing leadership of the project itself.
The internal upheaval at Automattic arrives during a period marked by significant public and legal strain. For some time, the company has been locked in a contentious legal battle with web hosting competitor WP Engine, a conflict that escalated after Mullenweg accused the rival of profiting from the open-source WordPress brand without making appropriate contributions. This dispute resulted in mutual lawsuits involving allegations of defamation, abuse of power, and trademark misuse.
The pressure within the company has been palpable, leading to a climate of instability. In the past, Mullenweg encouraged employees who were dissatisfied with his handling of the WP Engine situation to resign with severance packages, a suggestion that resulted in 159 people leaving the company. Furthermore, the organization underwent a 16% staff reduction in April 2025, which included the loss of many long-tenured employees.
Industry observers and former staff are now left to navigate the uncertainty created by this leadership change. While some employees have reportedly reacted with relief at the news, others remain concerned about the broader implications for the company's future. As of now, the exact catalyst for the board's sudden action remains undisclosed, though speculation continues to circulate regarding the timing of the decision following Mullenweg's recent return from his annual trip to the Burning Man festival.
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• 董事会决定让首席执行官（CEO）休假。这一决定是在一系列持续升级的公开冲突之后作出的，显示公司正通过策略性举措稳定局面、减轻持续法律纠纷带来的损害。
• 尽管首席执行官掌握重大投票权，董事会仍很可能出于受托责任而介入，这意味着内部局势已难以维持或存在法律风险。
• 多数不满源自首席执行官近年来对抗且难以预料的行为，这些举动疏远了关键社区成员，带来声誉风险。
• 业内观察者认为这是必要但来得迟的纠正，因为他近期的领导风格逐渐被视为对公司长期稳定和核心使命的负担。
• 与 WP Engine 的冲突被普遍视为转折点，许多人批评首席执行官的做法缺乏法律依据、带有报复性，并损害了更广泛的 WordPress 生态系统。
• 关于这些公开的不稳定行为应被归为职业倦怠（burnout）等医疗问题，还是仅反映一位傲慢、失控高管的所为，争论仍在继续。
• 尽管首席执行官在过去二十年对互联网有奠基性贡献，但他近期的行为让许多社区成员对他可能离开感到松一口气。
• 法律专家和观察员指出，此时点可能与即将举行的关于"毁灭证据"（spoliation of evidence）指控的庭审听证有关，可能带来重大财务和声誉后果。
• 观察者指出，尽管高管很少以传统意义被解雇，企业常用"leave"作为委婉说法，以便管理过渡并降低诉讼风险。
• 公司的前景仍不确定，因为首席执行官仍掌握重大控制权和所有权，这引发了人们对这次变动是否会带来真正文化变革，或只是导致进一步内部冲突的疑问。
Automattic 的高层过渡标志着一段长期内部动荡与外部对立的终结，这段动荡已从根本上侵蚀了 WordPress 生态的信任。虽然首席执行官在平台早期的成功中发挥了重要作用，但他近期专注于激进且自我损耗的法律战——以对 WP Engine 的诉讼最为明显——已对品牌构成存亡威胁。董事会让他停职，被视为恢复公司信誉、化解与其任期相关不断上升的法律风险的必要之举。尽管他仍是主要股东，观察者普遍认为组织已到临界点：他的个人形象已不再适合领导这一互联网基石。 • The decision by the board to place the CEO on leave follows a period of escalating, public conflict, suggesting a strategic effort to stabilize the company and mitigate damage from ongoing legal disputes.
• While the CEO holds significant voting power, the board likely exercised its fiduciary duty to intervene, potentially signaling that the internal situation had become untenable or legally hazardous.
• Much of the surrounding frustration stems from the CEO's confrontational, unpredictable behavior in recent years, which has alienated key community members and created reputational risks.
• Professional observers view this move as a necessary, if belated, correction, as the CEO's recent leadership style was increasingly viewed as a liability to the company's long-term stability and core mission.
• The conflict with WP Engine is widely seen as a turning point, with many criticizing the CEO's approach as legally baseless, vindictive, and harmful to the broader WordPress ecosystem.
• Debates persist regarding whether the CEO's erratic public behavior should be categorized as a medical issue like burnout or simply as the actions of an arrogant, unmanaged executive.
• Despite the CEO's foundational contributions to the internet over the past two decades, his recent conduct has led many in the community to express relief at his departure.
• Legal experts and observers note that the timing may be linked to upcoming court hearings regarding alleged spoliation of evidence, which could carry significant financial and reputational consequences.
• Observers note that while executives are rarely fired in the traditional sense, the use of "leave" as a euphemism is a standard corporate maneuver to manage transition and reduce litigation risk.
• The future of the company remains uncertain, as the CEO retains significant control and ownership, raising questions about whether this change will lead to a genuine shift in culture or further internal conflict.
The transition at the top of Automattic marks the culmination of a protracted period of internal instability and external hostility that has fundamentally eroded the trust of the WordPress ecosystem. While the CEO was instrumental in building the platform's initial success, his recent focus on aggressive, self-sabotaging legal battles—most notably against WP Engine—created an existential threat to the brand. The board's move to place him on leave represents a necessary attempt to reclaim the company's fiduciary standing and settle the mounting legal risks associated with his tenure. Although he remains a major shareholder, the consensus among observers is that the organization had reached a breaking point where his personal brand had become incompatible with the professional requirements of leading such a significant pillar of the web.