Automattic struggled to boost Tumblr revenues and reduces its staff to the minimum

In an internal post from Automattic, later confirmed and made public by CEO Matt Mullenweg, it was revealed that Tumblr's staff has been significantly reduced and redistributed to other projects within the parent company, leaving only a minimal team of Trust & Safety and support workers to manage the blogging platform.

This development indicates that since Automattic's acquisition of Tumblr in 2019, the company has struggled to boost Tumblr's activity and revenue. The CEO acknowledged this in his statement, saying that they have "not gotten the expected results from their effort."

The news does not necessarily mean the end for Tumblr, but it does raise concerns about the platform's future. However, despite the staff changes, Mullenweg stated that starting January 1, 2024, the company will experiment with a new structure involving smaller, more focused teams working on key areas of Tumblr that users have requested improvements on.