On Tuesday, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg sent ripples throughout the WordPress community with a blog post announcing the layoff of 281 employees – representing 16% of Automattic’s workforce. 1
Employees were first notified 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 evolution as key factors necessitating the restructuring.
Affected employees will receive severance packages, retain their company laptops, and have access to job placement resources, according to the announcement.
Layoffs aren’t generally celebrated, but a lot of the responses this announcement received seemed to be particularly more angry – stemming from the already built-up negative attitude towards Matt as a result of #wpdrama. On the flip side, there was also a tremendous outpouring of support for the Automattic employees being let go. Let’s take a closer look.
How the web is responding
As I just mentioned, the announcement triggered varied responses across social media platforms, with many current and former employees sharing their experiences and perspectives.
Employees and associates offer their thoughts
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 the ones that Matt offered to those who chose to leave last year was shared by several other people.
Among them was Kellie Peterson, who identifies as an admin for an Automattic Alumni Slack instance. She offered a particularly pointed critique that challenged Mullenweg’s leadership capabilities and encouraged companies to hire the now-available talent:
Christopher S., a developer at Automattic, shared his surprise at being included in the cuts:
As news of the layoffs spread, some in the WordPress community quickly began highlighting opportunities for those affected. Oliver Sild, CEO of Patchstack, commented on Kellie Peterson’s LinkedIn post, where he specifically mentioned that Patchstack is looking for PHP / Laravel developers with WordPress experience:
Employee’s blog offers deeper context
Anne McCarthy, a long-time Automattic employee, published a blog post titled “Learn about those impacted by Automattic’s Workforce Reduction” that provides valuable context about the capabilities of those affected. 2
In the post, 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 former colleagues as “adaptable self-starters, lifelong learners, and wildly creative problem solvers” who “take deep ownership of their work and want to help those around them thrive too.”
Her post is both a tribute to her former colleagues and a resource for employers seeking talent – she invited hiring managers to comment if they have relevant openings.
A challenging time to enter the job market
For U.S.-based Automattic employees, this transition comes during a particularly tough period in the job market. The federal government has recently cut hundreds of thousands of positions across numerous agencies, flooding the applicant pool in many sectors.
While federal jobs don’t perfectly overlap with the tech roles at Automattic, the overall job market contraction adds another layer of difficulty for those seeking new positions. Since January 2025, over 200,000 federal workers across more than a dozen agencies have been eliminated, with another 75,000 accepting buyouts. 3 4
Tech roles exist across all industries, including government, meaning that competition for open positions may be fiercer than usual even for specialized WordPress and web development talent.
What’s next for those affected
The Automattic announcement mentioned that affected employees would receive “a comprehensive package covering severance pay and benefits” along with retention of company laptops and access to job placement resources.
McCarthy’s blog post also offers to help with job connections, writing, “For any ex-automatticians, I’m here to help repost your open to work shares, make any intros I can, and pass on jobs I see.”
The tech community’s rapid response with job postings suggests that many companies recognize the opportunity to bring on experienced talent from a company known for its high standards and innovative approach to remote work.
Looking ahead
Mullenweg expressed confidence that Automattic would “come out of this situation in a better position,” focusing on creating “a vibrant, profitable, well-designed company” that continues its mission to democratize the internet.
For the affected employees across 90 countries, the immediate future involves navigating a major professional transition while the tech industry watches closely to see how Automattic’s restructuring impacts its products and position in the market.
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