The WordPress ecosystem is in the midst of a crisis as a dispute between Automattic, led by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, and hosting provider WP Engine has escalated into a full-blown conflict. This dispute has led to legal threats, employee departures, and controversial actions affecting the broader WordPress community, raising concerns about the future of the popular open-source platform.
The Initial Dispute with WP Engine The conflict between Automattic and WP Engine began in mid-September 2024 when Matt Mullenweg, WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO, publicly called WP Engine a “cancer to WordPress” during WordCamp US. Mullenweg criticized WP Engine for disabling the revision history feature for posts, which he considered a core part of WordPress’s user promise.
The dispute quickly escalated, with Mullenweg accusing WP Engine of not contributing enough to the WordPress open-source project and demanding that they either pay 8% of their revenue as a trademark license fee or commit equivalent resources to WordPress core development. WP Engine responded by sending a cease-and-desist letter, rejecting the demands and claiming fair use of the WordPress trademark. Automattic, in turn, sent its own cease-and-desist letter, accusing WP Engine of breaching WordPress and WooCommerce trademark usage rules.
The WordPress Foundation also updated its Trademark Policy page, specifically calling out WP Engine for allegedly confusing users. WP Engine then changed its plan names to remove “WordPress” references in an attempt to address Automattic’s claims, but the initial clash had already set the stage for a broader conflict.
Automattic Employee Exodus In response to the escalating conflict with WP Engine, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg offered employees a “generous buy-out package” to leave if they disagreed with the company’s actions. Initially, 159 employees (8.4% of the workforce) accepted the offer of $30,000 or six months’ salary, whichever was higher. Days later, Mullenweg presented a second offer with nine months’ severance, giving employees just four hours to decide. This move has been criticized for creating an environment of paranoia and fear within the company. The exodus included several key figures, such as the head of WordPress.com and WordPress.org’s executive director, potentially impacting Automattic’s operations and the broader WordPress ecosystem.
WordPress.org’s Retaliatory Actions In response to the escalating conflict, WordPress.org, controlled by Matt Mullenweg, took several retaliatory actions against WP Engine:
- Blocked WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org resources, preventing plugin updates for websites hosted on the platform.
- Added a mandatory checkbox to the WordPress.org login requiring users to confirm they are not affiliated with WP Engine.
- Forked the “Advanced Custom Fields” (ACF) plugin maintained by WP Engine, renaming it “Secure Custom Fields” (SCF) and removing commercial upsells.
These actions have left thousands of WP Engine customers without security updates, potentially exposing millions of internet users to vulnerabilities. The move has been criticized by security researchers and community members, who argue that it violates open-source principles and unfairly punishes end-users.
Community and Legal Fallout The dispute has sparked widespread criticism within the WordPress community, with many contributors and developers voicing concerns about Automattic’s actions. Some contributors report being banned from WordPress Slack channels for opposing Mullenweg’s moves. WordCamp events have apparently been instructed to remove WP Engine as a sponsor, further isolating the company from the community.
Critics argue that Automattic’s actions violate open-source principles and potentially constitute anti-competitive behavior. The ongoing legal battle and community turmoil have created significant uncertainty in the WordPress ecosystem, raising questions about the platform’s governance and future direction.
As the conflict between Automattic and WP Engine continues to unfold, the WordPress community is closely watching the situation, concerned about the potential impact on the platform’s open-source ethos and the stability of the broader ecosystem.