Loyalty or layoff? Automattic employees face tough choices

In a dramatic twist that feels more like an episode of “Succession” than a workplace reality, Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic, offered a second “Alignment Offer” to his employees mid this week. This new buyout offer gave Automatticians a brief, four-hour window to resign and pocket nine months’ compensation. For those dissatisfied with the company’s turbulent legal fight with WP Engine, it seemed like a golden parachute. But the stakes are high: leave quietly with a nice severance or face the music.

Mullenweg’s October 3 announcement was the first round of what he called an “Alignment Offer,” designed to purge his company of dissenters in the wake of a lawsuit from WP Engine, a web hosting platform that he’s accused of “strip-mining the WordPress ecosystem.” It’s been a messy, public spat, with cease-and-desist letters flying and WP Engine alleging extortion on Mullenweg’s part. To top it off, Automattic employees were handed the original offer: leave with $30,000 or six months’ pay, whichever was higher, or stay and face what was rapidly becoming a corporate battlefield.

When 159 people took the bait, that left around 91.6% of the company still standing—though, as Mullenweg gleefully pointed out in his blog, they had passed up $126 million in potential severance. Many who stayed may have done so out of financial necessity or fear of finding a new job in today’s unpredictable market, despite concerns about Automattic’s direction.

However, not everyone was swayed by the first offer, and rumors of leaks to the press prompted a second, even juicier buyout window. On Wednesday, Mullenweg put forth a more lucrative nine-month package, and employees had only four hours to decide. And here’s the kicker: they had to DM Mullenweg personally with the words, “I resign and would like to take the 9-month buy-out offer.” If that sounds like the digital equivalent of standing in front of a firing squad, it kind of is. The offer came with a clear threat — leak anything else, and you’re out without a dime. Employees say that the conditions inside Automattic are now deeply unsettling.

New alignment offer: I guess some people were sad they missed the last window. Some have been leaking to the press and ex-employees. That’s water under the bridge. Maybe the last offer needed to be higher. People have said they want a new window, so this is my attempt.

Here’s a new one: You have until 00:00 UTC Oct 17 (~4 hours) to DM me the words “I resign and would like to take the 9-month buy-out offer.” You don’t have to say any reason, or anything else. I will reply “Thank you.” Automattic will accept your resignation, you can keep your office stuff and work laptop; you will lose access to Automattic and W.org (no slack, user accounts, etc). HR will be in touch to wrap up details in the coming days, including your 9 months of compensation, they have a lot on their plates right now. You have my word this deal will be honored. We will try to keep this quiet, so it won’t be used against us, but I still wanted to give Automatticians another window.

“Overall, the environment is now full of people who unequivocally support Matt’s actions, and people who couldn’t leave because of financial reasons (and those are mostly silent),” one anonymous employee told 404 Media’s Sam Cole. “My personal morale has never been lower at this job, and I know that I’m not alone,” another current employee said.

Multiple employees describe a culture of paranoia and fear, where dissenters are quiet, and those vocal in their support of Mullenweg are applauded. According to 404 Media, employees who have chosen to stick around have even begun changing their Slack usernames to include “[STAYING],” a digital badge of allegiance to the CEO. It’s got all the markings of a modern-day tech-coup, with Mullenweg himself sending thinly veiled warnings to anyone thinking of leaking to the press.

“We have technical means to identify the leaker as well,” Mullenweg reportedly said in a Slack message obtained by 404 Media. “So this is their opportunity to exit gracefully, or be fired tomorrow with no severance and probably a big legal case for violating a confidentiality agreement.”

The anxiety doesn’t stop there. Automatticians have seen Mullenweg take unprecedented steps to monitor employee communications, including intercepting emails from Blind, a platform where employees typically go to anonymously share grievances. In a move that Blind described as “spying,” Mullenweg reportedly directed sign-up emails for the platform to himself, forcing employees to message him personally for verification codes. The message this sent to employees was loud and clear: Big Brother is watching.

Mullenweg, meanwhile, appears unfazed. Posting on his blog last week from what appears to be a safari, he shared pictures of himself enjoying a getaway while chaos continued to erupt back home. The disconnect between leadership and employees has never been clearer. “It very clearly shows how out of touch he is with everyday reality,” a former employee told 404 Media. “Sharing pictures of him being on safari while all this shit is going down, as if people would think that was cool. Only rich tech bros would think that.”

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The ultimate question is, where does Automattic go from here? As the legal fight with WP Engine heats up, so does the internal pressure cooker. And with a company culture that increasingly echoes Elon Musk’s post-Twitter acquisition upheavals, it’s anyone’s guess how many more will take Mullenweg’s offer — or stay to watch the fallout.