• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Tech CEO offers workers $30,000 to quit on the spot and is shocked by the results

Home> News> US News

Published 19:07 8 Oct 2024 GMT+1

Tech CEO offers workers $30,000 to quit on the spot and is shocked by the results

The CEO of Automattic admits 'every resignation stings a bit'

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

The CEO of a tech company has spoken out on an 'emotional rollercoaster of a week' after offering workers '$30,000 or six months of salary' to leave.

San Francisco tech company Automattic and another company got into a bit of a spat which led to 'parallel debate' between colleagues.

And after it 'became clear a good chunk' of people 'disagreed' with CEO Matt Mullenweg's actions, he decided to offer them a way out - which an unexpectedly large number of employees took him up on.

In a post on his blog on October 3, Mullenweg quoted none other than Winston Churchill by writing: "Never let a good crisis go to waste."

Advert

The CEO then explained after it became clear colleagues didn't all agree with Automattic's actions when it came to dealing with a lawsuit filed by fellow tech WP Engine, they 'decided to design the most generous buy-out package possible'.

Titled the 'Alignment Offer', the package detailed if employees 'resigned before 20:00 UTC on Thursday, October 3, 2024, [they] would receive $30,000 or six months of salary, whichever is higher'.

"But [they'd] lose access to Automattic that evening, and [they] wouldn’t be eligible to boomerang (what we call re-hires)."

What's more, 'HR added some extra details to sweeten the deal,' Mullenweg noting: "We wanted to make it as enticing as possible."

Advert

Alas, the deal clearly ended up all too too 'enticing' for some leading to some fairly shocking results and an 'emotional rollercoaster of a week' for the CEO.

Mullenweg offered employees a pretty sweet deal to leave and so off nearly 10 percent of them went (ERIC PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images)
Mullenweg offered employees a pretty sweet deal to leave and so off nearly 10 percent of them went (ERIC PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images)

Mullenweg reveals a whopping total of 159 people took the offer - of who '63.5 percent were male' and '53 percent were in the US' - which is nearly 10 percent of the entire company (8.4 percent to be exact).

Breaking it down even further, the CEO continued: "By division it impacted our Ecosystem / WordPress areas the most: 79.2 percent of the people who took it were in our Ecosystem businesses, compared to 18.2 percent from Cosmos (our apps like Pocket Casts, Day One, Tumblr, Cloudup).

Advert

"18 people made over 200k/yr! One person started two days before the deadline. Four people took it then changed their minds."

Mullenweg noted 'every resignation stings a bit' given 'the day you hire someone you aren’t expecting them to resign or be fired, you’re hoping for a long and mutually beneficial relationship'.

However, he resolved he feels 'much lighter' without now the 8.4 percent have left, adding: "I’m grateful and thankful for all the people who took the offer, and even more excited to work with those who turned down $126M to stay.

"As the kids say, LFG!"

Advert

Well, that's one way to look at it.

UNILAD has contacted Mullenweg for comment.

Featured Image Credit: ERIC PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Stock

Topics: Money, Social Media, Technology, US News, Viral, Business, Psychology

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Billionaire CEO reveals the two biggest red flags in interviews that instantly put him off candidates
  • CEO makes honest admission as he reveals the major impact Trump’s tariffs will have on prices
  • People are sharing their receipts as Trump's tariffs come into effect and the results are horrifying
  • Why your complicated password might be doing more harm than good

Choose your content:

7 mins ago
16 mins ago
2 hours ago
12 hours ago
  • 7 mins ago

    Iran reportedly breaks ceasefire with Israel just hours after Trump issued desperate plea

    Iran have reportedly already broken the ceasefire with Israel shortly after Trump announced that an agreement had been met

    News
  • 16 mins ago

    Huge rescue mission underway after tourist gets trapped 1,600ft down active volcano

    Juliana Marins, 26, is said to have been trapped in the volcano in Indonesia for three days

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Iran's foreign minister gave extremely telling response to Trump's claim cease fire deal is done

    There's been an ongoing back-and-forth between Iran, Israel and the US for some time

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    Donald Trump issues surprising statement after Iran strikes US air base

    The president has issued a statement after Iran fired missiles at US air bases in Qatar and Iraq

    News