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Automattic begins layoffs after board turnover and executive exits, TechCrunch reports
Automattic, which runs WordPress.com and Tumblr, has started laying off staff across several teams after a September board fight and a run of executive departures, TechCrunch reported Wednesday [1].
- New headline Was: “Automattic begins layoffs following board upheaval and executive departures”
- Our desk filed its story
Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce and Tumblr, has begun laying off employees, TechCrunch reported Wednesday, citing people inside the company who expect more cuts1.
The layoffs over at least the past week have reached the communications and social teams, WordPress.com and the company's VIP enterprise business, according to the report1. TechCrunch said it had also heard of cuts in marketing and product at WordPress.com this month1.
The cuts follow a failed attempt by Automattic's board in September to remove Chief Executive Matt Mullenweg, which ended with the full board replaced, TechCrunch reported1. The company's chief financial officer, an interim CFO and its chief legal officer have since left1.
Asked last week about the layoffs, Mullenweg told TechCrunch the terminations were not above normal levels1. Asked on Wednesday about the growing total, he said he was “mostly focused on PHP,” referring to the PHP security fixes released that day1.
Automattic's website lists 1,397 employees, according to TechCrunch, which reported that insiders expect the cuts to be spread over several months to improve fourth-quarter revenue ahead of a debt renegotiation in June1. Automattic has not announced a total number of layoffs1.
No other outlet had confirmed the layoffs at the time of writing.
