159 Employees Leave Automattic as WordPress CEO Escalates Fight With WP Engine (techcrunch.com)
- Reference: 0175190633
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/24/10/04/1355253/159-employees-leave-automattic-as-wordpress-ceo-escalates-fight-with-wp-engine
- Source link: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/04/159-employees-are-leaving-automattic-as-ceos-fight-with-wp-engine-escalates/
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/04/159-employees-are-leaving-automattic-as-ceos-fight-with-wp-engine-escalates/
[2] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/10/03/1354214/wp-engine-sues-wordpress-for-libel-extortion
"You can't fire me, I--actually, please do." (Score:2)
Uh, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm not sure about the legality of offering to buy employees out and then marking them ineligible for rehire when they take the deal. Especially since this is, like, California.
Re: (Score:1)
Actually that would be exactly why they are ineligible... but point taken about nonsense in CA.
When you are bought out... you basically sign a contract saying you'll never work for them again.
Re: (Score:2)
It's probably legal, but it's also stupid.
If, in the future, there is an opening that one of those ex-employees would be ideally suited for, is the company really going to not hire the ideal candidate? Is the company really going to hire second-best, or worse?
Never burn your bridges.
Hubris is the downfall (Score:5, Insightful)
From a 30,000 foot view, this has all the hallmarks of an ego driven leadership losing control after making a large number (or one REALLY bad one) of disastrous decisions made by a petty tyrant.
I'm not saying this is the case, because I do not actually know. Its just a pattern I've seen.
If I had any advice, I would suggest the Board that controls the C-Suite start looking for new Leadership ASAP, or there won't be enough company left. Hubris sank the Titanic, not the iceberg.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah. Mullenweg should have kept his mouth shut instead of talking shit about WP Engine. WordPress can run on other hosts. He could have just steered users (nicely) to some of those.
People (normal ones) just don't like stepping into the middle of someone else's ego battles. So, avoid WordPress and WP Engine. I've build some pretty good sites using vi.
Something stinks in open source world (Score:3)
Some developers embrace the idea of open source until their baby grows and they realize that they can get rich.
WordPress and OpenAI are just a couple of examples where end users adopt open technology and then have that support converted in to profit focussed entities. It borders on fraud.
Full power to the lawyers! (Score:1)
Iâ(TM)m giving her all sheâ(TM)s got!
"ineligible" yeah (Score:2)
but are ineligible for rehire, Mullenweg added.
A company like this is ineligible for me to apply to work at, so there is no real problem here.
Yeah, they are on my "ineligible employers list."
Mullenweg specifically is on my "ineligible bosses list" - and I didn't even have to pay him 30 grand for the privilege!
And, I'm trying to figure out any/all ways our business might be using or supporting theirs to get out of those arrangements ASAP.
That's the "ineligible to do business with" list.
Capitalist asshol
Ineligible for rehire (Score:2)
What does that mean?
If WP needs someone with a particular skill set and product knowledge/experience, they would not hire them because they were 'ineligible'?
Re: (Score:2)
Of course. They betrayed the Family by not being Team Players, so they are now Ex-Communicated, and any remaining employees found to be in contact with them will also be shot.
Re: (Score:2)
I suspect all it means is that no one in the company will hire them for any other position,There aren't very many people with unique skill sets and knowledge and those that had those in the company probably aren't being let go. But all of them probably have skill sets that are suitable for another position. This is a statement that the company won't hire them for those positions. You can't take the buyout and get your buddy in another department to hire you again.
Smart layoff? (Score:2)
Was this whole thing because of lack of revenue from WP Engine right? So another way to increase profitability is to shake loose some head count. Looks like they've done that. I think automatic is morally correct, but going about things in maybe not the best strategic way.
Only valid until... (Score:3)
"Ineligible for rehire" is only valid until Mullenweg is out, and he seems to be working really hard towards that end...
Re: (Score:3)
Is it possible to get rid of him, though? He seems to be "dictator for life". I'm not a fan of him ever since his non-apology for putting third-party trackers in the Jetpack plugin and the Wordpress dashboard.
Re: (Score:2)
Everyone should ditch Jetpack, terrible plugin, slows your site down, and far from the most effective features it offers. Here's a few free plugins to consider for the features I used it for:
* Duplicate posts: there are a few with this name (posts/pages)
* Site Down Notification: UptimeRobot.com is awesome, monitor 50 sites for free
* Firewall/Brute Force: Wordfence & Turnstile have been MUCH better
* Stats: lots of Google-related options, I prefer Independent Analytics which doesn't rely on Google, pretty