Erratic leadership, numerous layoffs, used to be great - Software Engineer Automattic Employee Review

1.0
31 Jul 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Established remote work culture, genuinely some of the best people you'll ever work with, tech that is used by millions. Travel is a really cool perk, as is the three month sabbatical at five years. Used to be great, there's hope it could be again.

Cons

Business is stagnating. Growth can feel limited due to tech stack. Salary is average, maybe slightly below average. Erratic leadership, especially the CEO, who was recently judged by an independent committee to have bullied and harassed WordPress community members. He also made a controversial situation on Tumblr worse via a public meltdown. The "Automattic" section of his Wikipedia page literally has more space occupied by controversy than business achievements. Internally, the term "Matt bombs" is common. He's known to be unjustly callous if he takes a personal dislike to someone and dishes out objectively bizarre, out-of-touch, damaging directives. Promotes and surrounds himself with sycophantic yes-men who enable his toxicity. There have been numerous poorly handled layoffs in which people in underrepresented groups were disproportionately affected. The environment is increasingly hostile to underrepresented groups. I've been privy to many misogynistic comments regarding women engineers. Leadership and HR are quick to dismiss valid feedback and avoid accountability. The company is declining as a direct result of poor decisions and direction from senior leadership. ICs are suffering the consequences of those poor decisions. Oh, and we were recently encouraged to leave positive Glassdoor reviews specifically in a bid to cancel out the impact of negative reviews. Again, feedback, no matter how valid, is simply swept under the rug and not taken seriously.

Explore other reviews about Automattic

5.0
23 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Thorough and thoughtful onboarding process. Super supportive coworkers. The vast amount of resources to learn is second to none. Leads and mentors proactively check in and offer support constantly. Diversity and inclusion is amazing.

Cons

I do not have any cons at this time.

1.0
15 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It's a fairly easy place to hide and rake in money if you can talk a good game. The CEO is easily influenced by the Chief People Officer, so if you can stay on her good side, you are on the gravy train. Benefits are good.

Cons

The CEO will threaten the workplace with being replaced by AI because he doesn't have a clue what he's doing or how to influence people. The CEO will start bizarre fights with customers on Twitter and will expose their details. It's a distracting place to work and everyone that has stayed here is on edge about losing their job any day of the week. They are not doing anything innovative and it's a dying product. You can tell this by the distinct lack of investment. I get paid very well, but that's only because I have the Chief People Officer onside. Salary increases are random and there is zero transparency. The CEO also has weird and inappropriate relationships with some staff. He bought the Chief People Officer a $10,000 chair and that person now makes jokes about holding it against him if he tries to fire her. This is one example of many, of the complete unprofessionalism all round.

4
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