Automattic announced that Matt Mullenweg is terminating 16% of Automattic employees, citing the need to increase productivity and the capacity to invest. The company is currently in a period of growth and profitability, six months after more than 8% of employees resigned. The announcement explains: “We have reached an important crossroads. While our revenue continues … Read more
Automattic removed a spreadsheet containing the domain names of WP Engine customers from the WP Engine Tracker website. The removal is in response to a preliminary injunction granted to WP Engine, ordering Automattic and Matt Mullenweg to remove the spreadsheet within 72 hours. The preliminary injunction was warmly received on X (formerly Twitter), a tweet … Read more
A judge ruled in WP Engine’s favor in their request for a preliminary injunction against Automattic and Matt Mullenweg. The court agreed that WP Engine will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is not granted and giving the defendants (Automattic and Mullenweg) 72 hours to return things to the way they were as of September … Read more
Automattic announced the acquisition of WPAI, a company that creates AI-powered functionalities that make WordPress easier and more efficient to use. The core technologies of the current apps will be integrated into new offerings by Automattic. WPAI WPAI released it’s first product, CodeWP in 2022. CodeWP was an AI integrated development environment (IDE) for developers, … Read more
Automattic quietly updated the WP Engine Tracker website with an activity log showing a continuously updated list of domains that have switched away from managed WordPress host, WP Engine. This update is part of Mullenweg’s self-described “nuclear war” against WP Engine, with the Tracker site actively promoting competitors by offering links to their hosting promotions. WP … Read more
WP Engine had their day in court, but it didn’t go entirely in their favor, as Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled the request for a preliminary injunction was too vague. However, the judge said they were “inclined to grant some sort of injunction.” “That’s How You Set A Ransom” The attorney for plaintiff offered new details … Read more
Automattic cloned WP Engine’s paid ACF Premium plugin and is distributing it for free. Many in the WordPress community disapprove of this action, expressing concerns that it undermines the plugin and theme ecosystem. Advanced Custom Fields Plugin Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) is a WordPress plugin that’s popular with WordPress website developers because it enables them … Read more
WP Engine escalated its Federal complaint by citing Automattic’s publication of the WP Engine Tracker website as evidence of intent to harm WP Engine and exposing customers to potential cybercrimes. The updated complaint incorporates recent actions by Mullenweg to further strengthen their case. A spokesperson for WP Engine issued a statement to Search Engine Journal … Read more
In an ironic twist to the ongoing dispute between Automattic and WP Engine, a newly published website on WPEngineTracker.com is displaying a protest message against CEO Matt Mullenweg. Copycat Domain Name Registered Someone registered the domain name WPEngineTracker.com using the words that Automattic’s WordPressEngineTracker.com domain uses to describe itself (WP Engine Tracker) . If people … Read more
Automattic appears to have created a site that draws attention to the number of customers that have left WP Engine for another web host. The site includes a searchable database of websites hosted on WP Engine that can also be downloaded as a CSV spreadsheet. The name of the website is WP Engine Tracker, it … Read more
WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO announced today that he offered Automattic employees the chance to resign with a severance pay and a total of 8.4 percent. Mullenweg offered $30,000 or six months of salary, whichever one is higher, with a total of 159 people taking his offer. Reactions Of Automattic Employees Given the recent controversies … Read more
WP Engine, the managed web host recently banned from WordPress.org, has filed a federal lawsuit against WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging attempted extortion as well as seeking relief from trademark infringement claims. The goal of the federal lawsuit is to stop Mullenweg from continuing to “harm” WP Engine and the WordPress ecosystem as … Read more
Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, Jetpack, WooCommerce and more, have announced a new program to woo Agencies into their ecosystem of products with more ways to earn revenue. This new program could be seen as putting Automattic into direct competition with closed source systems like Wix and Duda but there are clear differences between all … Read more
Automattic, the parent company of WordPress, has broadened its portfolio by acquiring Texts.com, an application that consolidates various messaging platforms into a single inbox. The Texts.com platform brings together a wide range of messaging apps such as iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Facebook Messenger, Twitter DMs, Instagram DMs, LinkedIn, Slack, and Discord, among others. It features … Read more
