On September 9, 2026, the Automattic board of directors voted to remove Matt Mullenweg as CEO. They gave him fifty minutes' notice. His request for a delay so legal counsel could review the decision was denied. By September 12, Mullenweg was back in charge with the board's "full support." In between, he seized control of the company Slack workspace, removed admins, and rallied public support from employees on social media. It was the fastest corporate ouster-and-return in tech since Elon Musk fired himself from Twitter and then un-fired himself.

What actually happened

The sequence of events reads like a startup founder's worst nightmare and best fantasy rolled into one week.

Wednesday, September 9: The board put Mullenweg on paid leave and installed CFO Mark Davies as interim CEO. Automattic issued a terse three-sentence statement expressing "full confidence" in Davies. Mullenweg posted that he'd been blindsided — fifty minutes between receiving the resolution and the meeting, no time for legal review. He publicly accused Davies of conspiring behind his back with the board, then hours later tweeted that he fully supports Davies in the interim role. Classic Mullenweg: say the quiet part loud, then walk it back just enough.

Friday, September 11: Someone at Automattic forgot to revoke Mullenweg's Slack access. He took over the workspace, stripped admin privileges from others, and announced to employees that he was back in control. TechCrunch's headline captured the ambiguity perfectly: "Matt Mullenweg tells (trolls?) Automattic staff, saying he's back in control after CEO ouster." The parenthetical was doing a lot of work.

Mary Hubbard, WordPress's Executive Director, tweeted support. Then a wave of Automattic employees posted publicly backing Mullenweg, and he amplified each one. The social media campaign effectively drowned out the voices supporting his removal.

Saturday, September 12: Automattic issued a second statement — this one with a very different tone. "Matt Mullenweg is the chairman and CEO of Automattic, with full support of the board and if you search online you can see many top executives and Automatticians supporting him as well." Roger Montti at Search Engine Journal noted the second statement reads like Mullenweg wrote it himself, comparing word choice and sentence structure. The contrast with the original corporate boilerplate was stark.

Why this matters for WordPress

The drama isn't just boardroom gossip. Mullenweg is the co-founder and project lead of WordPress, which powers roughly 40% of the web. Automattic is the largest financial contributor to the WordPress project. Whatever happens inside Automattic affects the entire ecosystem — plugin developers, hosting companies, agencies, and the millions of businesses running WordPress sites.

The ouster came on top of an already rough year. The WP Engine lawsuit — which Mullenweg himself described as a "nuclear" war — has dragged on since late 2024. A motion for sanctions accused Mullenweg of destroying or failing to preserve evidence, including a laptop and phone that went missing. WordPress's CMS marketshare has been declining. WordCamp attendance is down. Plugin developers are reporting shrinking paid user bases, partly driven by AI tools making it easier to build custom solutions without third-party plugins.

Mullenweg's removal would have been the biggest leadership change in WordPress's 20+ year history. His return means more of the same — which could be stabilization or could mean the same patterns that created the current problems continue.

What WordPress site owners should actually do

If you're running a WordPress site — and statistically, you probably are — here's the practical takeaway: the platform isn't going anywhere, but the leadership drama creates uncertainty that's worth managing.

First, don't panic. WordPress the software is open source. It's maintained by a community that extends far beyond Automattic. Even in the worst-case scenario where Automattic implodes, WordPress continues. That's the whole point of open source.

Second, pay attention to the security implications. WordPress recently announced a Core Security Initiative that uses AI to proactively find vulnerabilities before attackers do. That's a good sign — it means the security team is adapting to a world where AI makes vulnerability discovery faster and cheaper. But the leadership turmoil could slow down or distract from that work.

Third, diversify your dependencies. If you're running critical business processes through Automattic services (WordPress.com, Jetpack, WooCommerce hosted services), have a contingency plan. Not because those services are going away, but because any company in this much internal turmoil is a risk. Backups, alternative hosting arrangements, and a clear migration path are just good hygiene.

The bigger picture

Mullenweg's ouster-and-return raises uncomfortable questions about corporate governance at companies that control critical open-source infrastructure. A board that removes a CEO with fifty minutes' notice and no legal review is either acting with extreme urgency or extreme recklessness. A CEO who takes over the company Slack channel after being removed is either a visionary fighting for his company or someone who can't accept being told no. The second statement from Automattic — the one that reads like Mullenweg wrote it — suggests the answer doesn't matter. He's back, the board supports him, and WordPress moves forward under the same leadership that brought it here.

For anyone building on WordPress, the platform remains the most practical choice for most websites. But watching the person in charge of it survive a boardroom coup in three days should make you pay closer attention to what happens next. The WP Engine lawsuit is ongoing. Marketshare is declining. AI is reshaping how people build websites. And the guy steering the ship just proved he's not going anywhere — whether the board likes it or not.

Sources: Search Engine Journal — Mullenweg Back In Charge, Search Engine Journal — Mullenweg Ousted, Search Engine Journal — WordPress Security Initiative