Automattic has begun layoffs after a failed board move against CEO Matt Mullenweg.
TechCrunch reported on October 21, 2026, that the cuts had affected Automattic’s communications team, social team, WordPress.com and WordPress VIP enterprise business. The report did not include an overall number of affected employees, but said insiders were bracing for more cuts.
Automattic did not describe the moves as a single layoff round. In a statement shared with TechCrunch, spokesperson Chenda Ngak said the company is “staggering our organizational changes to be more generous with severance and allow more time with each Automattician.”
The cuts follow a fast-moving governance fight
The layoffs come weeks after Automattic’s board voted on September 9 to put Mullenweg on paid leave and name CFO Mark Davies interim CEO, according to TechCrunch. Automattic later confirmed to TechCrunch that Mullenweg had returned as chairman and CEO by September 12.
By late September, the company had a new board. Automattic’s public board page now lists Ann Dunwoody, Sue Decker and Toni Schneider as board emeritus, with service ending in 2026. TechCrunch reported that Davies and chief legal officer Andy Missan left after Mullenweg returned, and that interim CFO Jeremy Klaperman left in October after less than a month in the role.
The board has not publicly explained why it moved to put Mullenweg on leave.
Automattic had already reduced staff in 2025
The latest cuts also follow a restructuring announced in April 2025. At the time, Automattic said it would reduce its workforce by approximately 16% as part of an effort to improve productivity, profitability and capacity to invest. That earlier announcement framed the move as a response to competition, technology changes and the company’s need for a more sustainable operating model.
Why WordPress users should read the news carefully
Automattic is central to the WordPress ecosystem, but it is not the same thing as the open-source WordPress project. Automattic operates WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack, Tumblr, WordPress VIP and other products. Its own press materials describe WordPress.com as a hosted version of WordPress, while WordPress itself is open-source software maintained and supported by thousands of independent contributors.
The reported layoffs do not, by themselves, show that self-hosted WordPress sites or the open-source WordPress project are directly affected. The September governance fight was also presented internally as separate from WordPress.org; TechCrunch reported that WordPress.org executive director Mary Hubbard told the open-source community at the time that the project was not impacted by Mullenweg’s status change.
The more immediate questions are around Automattic-run products and services, especially WordPress.com and WordPress VIP, where TechCrunch reported that cuts had reached teams connected to customer communication, product and enterprise operations.
What remains unclear
Automattic has not publicly provided a final layoff count, a full list of affected teams or a detailed product-impact statement. It is also not clear how long the staggered changes will continue.
For agencies, publishers, store owners and enterprise teams that rely on Automattic products, the practical signs to watch are support response times, account communication, product roadmap changes and any shifts in WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack or WordPress VIP service levels.
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