Automattic Plans Reduction in WordPress Core Contribution to Match WP Engine Commitment
As the new year unfolds, ongoing tensions in the WordPress community have come to the forefront. Automattic, the company overseeing WordPress.com, has announced a reduction in its contributions to the WordPress core, the open-source initiative that forms the foundation of Automattic's products and underpins the longevity of WordPress as both a technology and community.
Automattic's CEO, Matt Mullenweg, who is also a co-creator of WordPress, has been engaged in disagreements with WP Engine since last September regarding contributions to WordPress as both an open-source and community-driven project.
In a recent blog post, Automattic indicated an alignment of its commitment to the "Five For the Future" program with that of rival hosting provider WP Engine. The adjustment will see Automattic matching its volunteering efforts with those pledged by WP Engine and other ecosystem participants, committing around 45 hours weekly, geared towards community-beneficial activities like security and critical updates.
Automattic further mentioned redirecting its resources towards the ongoing legal proceedings against WP Engine. In a September event, Mullenweg described WP Engine as a "cancer to WordPress" due to the significant holdings by the private equity firm Silver Lake and the minimal contribution from WP Engine to WordPress's sustainable growth. Automattic reiterated this point in their recent statement.
The company asserted, "WP Engine’s traditionally modest contributions highlight an imbalance that needs addressing for the health of WordPress. We believe in fairness and shared responsibility, and hope this move galvanizes all organizations that benefit from WordPress to contribute more."
Automattic contributes approximately 2,560 hours per week as per the Five for The Future dashboard—down from 3,900 hours in September. Whether this reduction stems from a declining workforce or a strategic pivot remains unclear.
The blog post also noted with a touch of sarcasm that some community members equated working on commercial entities like WordPress.com, Pressable, WPVIP, Jetpack, and WooCommerce with contributing to WordPress, prompting a refocus on developing those products instead of the WordPress core. Furthermore, Automattic faces financial performance pressures, with BlackRock marking down its investment in the company by 10% in December, following previous reductions amounting to over 50%.
The shift in contribution focus marks one of several changes impacting WordPress.org. Recently, Thijs Buijs, a core contributor leading the sustainability team, stepped down as a representative. The team aimed to ensure WordPress's long-term viability through social, economic, and environmental lenses.
A Slack screenshot shared on Reddit revealed Buijs's disagreement with Mullenweg's strategies in promoting WordPress. This resulted in Mullenweg's decision to disband the sustainability Slack channel, although he initiated it during an event in 2022.
Moreover, Mullenweg's handling of the WP Engine legal conflict has sparked suggestions for varied leadership within the WordPress ecosystem. Joost de Valk, the creator of the popular SEO tool Yoast, proposed a "federated" system for the WordPress repository, aiming for decentralized access to assets like plugins and themes.