Automattic, the company that runs WordPress.com, is withdrawing its contributions to the WordPress open-source project, according to An announcement on Thursday. The company says it is reducing contributions to “match” the amount of time companies like WP Engine spend on the ecosystem, further escalating tensions between Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg and the community.
Now, instead Spending 3,988 hours per week Developing the WordPress project, Automattic says it will now contribute about 45 hours as part of it Five for the future — a program that encourages companies to give five percent of their resources back to WordPress.org. “These hours will likely go towards security and critical updates,” Automattic says.
Blames the cutbacks on “significant time and money” associated with automation The ongoing legal battle with WP Engine. It also points to the “intense criticism” it has faced from “community members who want Matt and others to walk away from the WordPress project”:
We decided to redistribute resources due to lawsuits from WP Engine. This legal action diverts significant time and energy that could be directed toward supporting the growth and health of WordPress. 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.
After the company last year, many employees also left Automata Offered to buy staff Which didn’t agree with its fight against WP Engine. Mullenweg also shut down the WordPress project’s stability team this week, as well A screenshotted Slack message “It’s probably a good time to officially disband the team altogether,” Mullenweg said, adding, “It just doesn’t look like building a team around him is going to be able to advance any of its goals. was.” The move has drawn criticism from the community. Including journalist Kara Swisher.
Correction, January 10: A previous version of the article stated that Automattic had shut down its stability team. The stability team closed by Mullenweg was in the WordPress.org open source project, not Automate.
