Matt Mullenweg claims he’s back in charge at Automattic days after board ousted him

Matt Mullenweg, the co-creator of WordPress and longtime CEO of Automattic, told employees he’s back in control of the company just two days after its board voted to put him on paid leave. The claim, made in a Slack message seen by TechCrunch, has not been confirmed by Automattic, leaving one of the internet’s most important infrastructure companies in a state of corporate limbo. The boardroom coup and its rapid reversal On September 9, Automattic’s board voted to place Mullenweg on paid leave, a move he publicly opposed. The board members behind the decision included CFO Mark Davies, Ann Dunwoody, Toni Schneider, and Sue Decker. Davies was named interim CEO. Mullenweg reportedly received the resolution detailing his removal roughly 50 minutes before the board meeting where it was voted on. Despite the leave, Mullenweg retained his seat on the board. Davies told employees internally that Mullenweg would still have a voice in the company’s direction. By September 11, Mullenweg messaged Automattic’s staff via Slack to declare he had regained control. The company has stayed silent on whether this is actually true. A company already under pressure The company remains entangled in a leg...