Automattic CEO: "Never let a good crisis…" as 159 employees take severance package amid 'big fight'

Automattic, the company behind WordPress, is facing internal turmoil as 159 employees, representing 8.4% of its workforce, accepted a generous severance package amidst an ongoing dispute with web hosting provider WP Engine. CEO Matt Mullenweg, quoting Winston Churchill, stated, "Never let a good crisis go to waste," in a blog post addressing the situation on Thursday.
The severance offer, dubbed the "Alignment Offer," provided departing employees with $30,000 or six months of salary, whichever was higher. Mullenweg framed the exodus positively, emphasising that 91.6% of employees chose to stay, forgoing "$126M of potential severance."
The majority of departing employees (79.2%) worked in Automattic's Ecosystem / WordPress division, with the remaining 18.2% from the company's Cosmos businesses, which include apps like Pocket Casts, Day One, and Tumblr.
This internal shake-up comes as Automattic and WP Engine are locked in an escalating legal battle. WP Engine filed a lawsuit on Thursday, accusing Automattic and Mullenweg of "abuse of power" and extortion. Automattic has dismissed these claims as meritless.
The conflict began nearly two weeks ago when Mullenweg publicly called WP Engine a "cancer to WordPress" and banned the company from accessing WordPress.org resources, citing trademark infringement issues.
Despite the departures, some remaining Automattic employees have publicly expressed support for the company and Mullenweg on social media platforms.
Mullenweg acknowledged the emotional toll of the week but expressed optimism about the company's future, stating, "I feel much lighter. I'm grateful and thankful for all the people who took the offer, and even more excited to work with those who turned down $126M to stay."