Automattic, the company responsible for overseeing the WordPress Open Platform and WordPress.org, has made a decision to reduce its participation in WordPress development to about 45 hours a week. This decision equalizes its contribution to development with WP Engine and other third-party participants. The resources provided will likely only be enough to address critical issues and security updates.
Earlier, Automattic had evaluated its development efforts for WordPress at 3915 hours a week and expressed dissatisfaction with having to carry the project alone. They mentioned that WP Engine, which invests about 40 hours a week in a platform worth $500 million, was not contributing adequately.
Automattic’s actions are driven by a desire to achieve fairness and balance in the contributions of ecosystem participants. The decrease in development involvement is also attributed to the reallocation of resources due to legal disputes with WP Engine, which have been draining time, money, and energy. If WP Engine ceases its legal attacks, Automattic is willing to resume active participation in WordPress, including projects like Gutenberg, PlayGround, Openverse, and WordPress.org. In the meantime, Automattic will focus on its commercial products such as WordPress.com, Pressable, WPVIP, JETPACK, and WOOCOMMERCE.
These actions by Automattic are part of the ongoing conflict between Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress and owner of Automattic, and WP Engine, a hosting provider that supports WordPress-based websites. In October, WP Engine filed a complaint against Automattic in response to certain actions by Automattic that were perceived as damaging to WP Engine’s reputation. This included demands for licensing of the WordPress trademark and blocking access to WordPress.org resources.
On December 10, a court imposed a preliminary injunction in the ongoing legal battle between Automattic and WP Engine.