Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce, has started layoffs and staff expect more. Site and store owners should watch for service changes.
Automattic, the company that runs WordPress.com, WooCommerce and Tumblr, has started laying off employees. Insiders told TechCrunch they are bracing for more cuts. The company is also still dealing with a shake-up at the top that began in September.
Over at least the past week, cuts have hit the communications team, the social media team, WordPress.com and VIP, the business that serves large enterprise clients. Earlier this month, TechCrunch also heard that people in marketing and product at WordPress.com had been let go.
Megan Fox, the director of communications, posted on LinkedIn that her role had been eliminated. She called it an "unexpected end."
In September, the company's board tried and failed to remove CEO Matt Mullenweg. The result was a complete turnover of the board. The CFO, the interim CFO and the chief legal officer have all left since.
TechCrunch also saw screenshots in which Mullenweg shared private health details about a departed executive's family in the company's internal Slack. Some employees told the outlet they were shocked.
Mullenweg said last week that the terminations were not above normal numbers. Asked about the growing total, he said he was mostly focused on a PHP security issue hitting the internet. PHP is a coding language that much of the web runs on.
Automattic spokesperson Chenda Ngak said the company is "staggering our organizational changes to be more generous with severance and allow more time with each Automattician." The About page lists 1,397 staff.
Insiders say the cuts will likely be spread over the coming months. The hope is to improve fourth-quarter revenue before a debt renegotiation due in June. Debt renegotiation means the company will talk with its lenders about the terms of money it owes.
What is not known is how many people will lose their jobs in total. It is also unclear whether customers will see any change in support, service or pricing. The company has not said.
For now, nothing has been announced that changes how these products work. Owners may want to watch for notices about support response times, service or pricing.
If your site or store runs on WordPress.com or WooCommerce, watch for notices about support, service or pricing as Automattic cuts costs.
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