Adios, Complainers: Tech CEO Offers Unhappy Employees $30,000+ to Leave Company Forever

The CEO of tech company Automattic, Matt Mullenweg, has offered unhappy employees a buyout package of $30,000 or six months of salary to quit the company and never return amid an ongoing dispute with competitor WP Engine.

SFGate reports that the San Francisco-based tech company Automattic, known for its popular web-hosting site WordPress.com, has been embroiled in a weeks-long drama with competitor WP Engine. The conflict reached a new height last week when CEO Matt Mullenweg announced that 159 of his workers had chosen to accept a buyout offer and quit the company.

Mullenweg, who is also one of the co-creators of the WordPress web software, framed the buyout offer as an opportunity for “alignment” within the company. In a blog post, he explained that it had become clear that a significant portion of his staff disagreed with how he had been handling the dispute with WP Engine. As a result, he decided to offer what he called “the most generous buy-out package possible” to those who wished to leave.

Under the terms of the buyout, employees who chose to accept the offer would receive either $30,000 or six months of salary, whichever was higher. However, they would not be allowed to return to the company in the future. Mullenweg revealed that of the 8.4 percent of the company who took the deal, 18 individuals had salaries exceeding $200,000, meaning their pre-tax severance checks would clear $100,000.

The roots of the conflict between Automattic and WP Engine can be traced back to the open-source nature of the WordPress software. While Mullenweg co-created the software, his control over it is limited due to its open-source status. In September, Mullenweg publicly accused WP Engine and its private equity parent, Silver Lake, of prioritizing financial gain over the ideals of open source software.

The following weeks saw a rapid escalation of the dispute, with Mullenweg calling WP Engine a “cancer” and the two companies trading cease-and-desist letters. WP Engine’s lawyers labeled Mullenweg’s actions as “outrageous” and his statements as “false, misleading, and disparaging.” Mullenweg responded by blocking WP Engine from some WordPress tools, effectively removing certain software functions from their customers.

On Wednesday, the conflict reached a new level when WP Engine filed a wide-reaching lawsuit against Automattic and Mullenweg in the Northern District of California. The lawsuit, which includes 11 different claims, accuses Automattic and Mullenweg of breaking promises, attempting to intimidate WP Engine, and harming the entire WordPress community.

Despite the ongoing legal battle, Mullenweg remains committed to his stance. In a statement to SFGate, he said, “I’ve spent half of my life championing open source. I’m passionate about ensuring the software that runs 43 percent of the web is healthy. When private equity-backed companies take advantage of open source software and its tens of thousands of contributors, I’m going to stand up and fight against them.”