Automattic

• Good smart colleagues to trauma-bond with.

Total compensation is below market in the U.S.: Health benefits are above average (but trending down), but this is balanced by poor salary, no bonuses, no equity. On top of this: all signs point to compensation trending down drastically for new hires.

Inarguably, it's a hard time in the tech world, so leaders across the industry are being tested and many are laying off more than they might have hoped. The question with Automattic is whether or not the drastic actions are setting the company up for success or not.

The founder/CEO certainly landed on something special with WordPress over 20 years ago and rode some fantastic tailwinds through 2020. Unfortunately, his growth as a leader (and human) was completely arrested. When facing true adversity for the first time, Matt completely undermined the culture (and therefore value proposition) of Automattic as an employer. He fired and sidelined all the true leaders and handed things over to all of the most toxic yes-men. He somehow has learned all the wrong lessons and spent the last couple years doubling and tripling-down on poor strategy while repeatedly disrupting promising initiatives.

It's a toxic mess mess shrouded in false-positivity. The tech stack is an outdated mess and managed by a disaster of systems/engineering "leader" (which is killing engineering velocity and product innovation). Despite the Automattic creed, please be warned that you should NEVER question the status quo.

When you interview, you'll doubtlessly encounter some excellent humans (they're still there and will be prominent on the hiring team), but the reality on the ground is bad. You will not be insulated from toxic leadership. Your career will stagnate. Your skills will become less marketable. Your mental health may very well be impacted long term.

The board needs to step in (but they are apparently fairly powerless)