Multiple sources told TechCrunch that there has been a reorganization of the board of directors at Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com. Previously, the board had attempted to place the CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid leave, but this arrangement was quickly reversed, and he subsequently regained control of the company.

Board members are alleged to have resigned

It was reported that after last week's vote, Mullenweg accused the board of directors of "conspiring" against him within the company Slack. Subsequently, he informed the employees through Slack that he had regained control of the company. Automattic later confirmed with TechCrunch that he had indeed returned.

TechCrunch Quoting multiple sources, it is stated that the current members of the board of directors have left. The report also mentions that in addition to the changes that had already attracted attention from the outside world earlier on, two other directors, Sue Decker and Gen, as well as Ann Dunwoody, have also been removed from the board of directors.

Among them, the information for LinkedIn under Decker has been updated, indicating that she served as a director of Automattic from March 2020 to September 2026. However, as of the time of this report, her name is still listed on the board of directors page of the Automattic official website.

The company has not disclosed specific personnel details.

In response to questions about the board of directors' adjustments, Automattic did not specify which individuals were involved, but acknowledged that some personnel had left. A company spokesperson stated that management respects the contributions of all participants and that under the continued leadership of Mullenweg, the company remains optimistic about its future development.

The spokesperson also stated that Mullenweg was away from his post for only "33 hours and 20 minutes," and that the company has now returned to normal operations. This statement also corresponds with what the company said on Saturday, which was that "his return has received full support from the board of directors."

The new board of directors will be announced internally on Monday.

The report also stated that Automattic might announce the new board of directors arrangements internally as early as Monday. However, as of now, the company has not officially made any statements regarding the composition of the new board of directors to the public.

The direct cause of this incident is still unclear. Currently, Mullenweg and Automattic are involved in a highly publicized lawsuit, with the disputed party being WordPress, the custodian service provider WP Engine.

Mullenweg accuses WP Engine of infringing on WordPress's trademark, and claims that WP Engine has made insufficient contributions to the open-source WordPress project in terms of engineering investment and financial support. WP Engine, on the other hand, stated in a court document submitted earlier this year that Automattic plans to charge licensing fees from other competitors.