In a shocking move, Automattic has slashed its sponsored contributions to the WordPress project from a staggering 3,539 hours per week to a mere 45 hours—bringing its involvement in line with WP Engine and other organizations. This shift means Automatticians who once shaped the very core of WordPress will now redirect their efforts toward profit-driven ventures like WordPress.com, Pressable, WPVIP, Jetpack, and WooCommerce. The decision follows heated debates within the community, where some controversially argued that these commercial projects should count as contributions to WordPress itself.
As outlined on the Five for the Future page, Automattic contributes 3,539 hours per week (as of January 01, 2025), compared to WP Engine’s 45 hours. Automattic’s announcement frames this change as an opportunity to “regroup, rethink, and strategically plan” how its team can continue supporting WordPress’s future.
Reasons Behind the Realignment
The decision to reduce resources comes in response to ongoing lawsuits from WP Engine. “This legal action diverts significant time and energy that could otherwise be directed toward supporting WordPress’s growth and health. We remain hopeful that WP Engine will reconsider this legal attack, allowing us to refocus our efforts on contributions that benefit the broader WordPress ecosystem.”
Secondly, several Automatticians faced “intense criticism and even personal attacks” from members of the “community” who wanted Matt and others to step away from WordPress.
Future Plans
Automattic emphasized that the reduction in contributions is not permanent. It will focus on projects that can fortify WordPress for the long term and “Part of this will be making WordPress.com much closer to a core WordPress experience, instead of having a different interface.” Once the legal disputes have been resolved, Automattic plans to resume active contributions.
We’ll be back, stronger and more focused than ever, with a clear plan to drive meaningful contributions that reflect the needs of the broader WordPress community. This realignment is not an end, but a new beginning—one that will ultimately strengthen the foundation of WordPress.
Matt’s Response
Matt tweeted about the situation but later deleted the tweet.
Automattic & Realignments
This is the second realignment in recent times and the first this year. Automattic referred to the last realignment in October 2024 as “a strategic realignment to better pursue our core values and operational goals.” It led to the departure of 159 Automatticians, including former WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy, who disagreed with Matt’s actions. They were offered $30,000 or six months of salary, whichever is higher, but were no longer eligible for rehire.
The “Community”?
The term “community” is used in quotation marks twice in the announcement, but it is unclear whether it refers to critics of Matt Mullenweg’s leadership, supporters of WP Engine, or others who have voiced concerns about Automattic’s role in WordPress. After the last WordCamp US, Matt has been criticized widely and hasn’t gotten the full support of the community.
Recently, WordPress contributors and community leaders called for governance reform in a rare open letter, while Joost de Valk of Emilia Capital called for breaking the WordPress status quo.
WP Engine Gets the Blame
The announcement blames the WP Engine for this realignment. “We’ve made the decision to reallocate resources due to the lawsuits from WP Engine. This legal action diverts significant time and energy that could otherwise be directed toward supporting WordPress’s growth and health.”
The announcement continues, “WP Engine’s historically slim contributions underscore the imbalance that must be addressed for the health of WordPress. We believe in fairness and shared responsibility, and we hope this move encourages greater participation across all organizations that benefit from WordPress.”
In December 2024, Matt announced a holiday break for WordPress.org services for the first time in 21 years, pausing new account registrations on WordPress.org, plugin reviews, and new submissions to the plugin, theme, and photo directories. The only exception was for WP Engine. He said, “Right now much of the time I would spend making WordPress better is being taken up defending against WP Engine’s legal attacks.”
Despite all these, WP Engine hasn’t replied to any of these incidents on social media or anywhere else.
Community Reaction
David McCan, in his Ten WordPress Predictions for 2025 says, “What I see is that Matt is not interested in having WordPress return to, let’s call it, a quiet state. I think he believes that WordPress is so good that no matter what he says or does, people will continue using it. That by subsidizing WordPress.org over the years, he’s created a dependency, kind of like a drug addiction. And now people can’t stop using it.”
Co-founder of Nevma, Takis Bouyouri said, “Many things will be hindered or halted on the pretense of too few hours available. It’s a sad move to prove how necessary they are to the project.”
It remains to be seen if Matt Medeiros’ prediction will come true: “We’ll see more micro-communities pop up around WordPress through 2025. People fall out of love with WordPress as a “place to be,” and WordPress just gets tossed into the toolbox alongside Mailchimp and Google Apps. Transforming the experience from an open-source project backed by a global community into a free website builder by Automattic.”
Ironically, the whole dispute with WP Engine started with Matt accusing WP Engine of not contributing enough to WordPress, and now Automattic has reduced its hours to match WP Engine’s level of engagement. Also, Patchstack was rejected as WordCamp Europe 2025 Sponsor due to a lack of ‘significant’ WordPress contributions.
One thing is clear: WP Drama does not seem to end anytime soon.