According to the source, Automattic’s board voted earlier this week to put Matt Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence for unknown reasons. The move reportedly surprised Mullenweg, who posted on the company’s Slack accusing the board members of “conspiring” against him. Automattic confirmed Mullenweg’s removal to TechCrunch on Wednesday, stating that Mullenweg was “currently on leave” and that Chief Financial Officer Mark Davies would lead as interim CEO with “full confidence” of the board. The source notes that the board’s plan did not proceed smoothly. Mullenweg allegedly declined to depart, booting other administrators out of the company Slack and telling employees that everything had been worked out and that he was back in control of Automattic. At one point he posted to Slack, “I’m a pirate now” and used language that, according to the source, is something Mullenweg famously did not do. When TechCrunch asked Mullenweg whether his comments about being back as CEO were legitimate, he promised a blog post was coming; when it arrived, the post was about him buying a houseboat. Upon being asked if his earlier remarks were trolling, Mullenweg replied, “I’m not a troll I’m a pirate, obviously.” He also noted on X that this was likely the fifth time he has faced a “coup.” A company spokesperson shared with TechCrunch via email just after 5 PM ET on Saturday evening that “Matt Mullenweg is the chairman and CEO of Automattic, with full support of the board and if you search online you can see many top executives and Automatticians supporting him as well.” The source adds that the mention of online support appears to refer to supportive posts on X that Mullenweg has been reposting from his X account. The source also reports that Toni Schneider, a founding CEO of Automattic who now leads Bluesky, stepped down from the board. Schneider did not return requests for comment at his personal email or via requests sent to Bluesky. Automattic did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Friday, nor to reports about Schneider’s departure, and the source indicates that further changes to the board’s composition may still be in flux. Overall, the source describes a tumultuous week marked by a board vote, a contested leave, internal Slack confrontations, and a eventual reassertion of leadership by Mullenweg, with the company issuing a statement confirming his return as chairman and CEO.
