Canva announces major workforce restructuring affecting 22% of its staff

Consensus Summary

Canva, the global design software company, has announced a major restructuring that will affect 22% of its workforce, amounting to 1,270 or 1,271 jobs depending on the source. The company’s co-founder and CEO, Melanie Perkins, described the move as the 'hardest moment in our thirteen-year history,' marking the first time growth has slowed since the company’s founding in 2013. The restructuring includes job cuts, role changes, and relocations, with Sydney set to become the primary hub for product teams. Employees will be expected to work two to three days in the office each week starting in January, and outgoing staff will receive at least six months’ salary along with other support packages, including $US10,000 grants for those pursuing new ventures.

The decision comes amid broader challenges in the tech sector, where companies are grappling with the impact of artificial intelligence and shifting market demands. Canva’s growth has slowed for the first time in a decade, prompting the company to merge its product, growth, and platform teams into a single organization to streamline operations. Perkins emphasized the need to 'refound Canva' by returning to its roots of small, empowered teams, a shift aimed at preparing the company for its next phase of development. The restructuring also follows smaller cuts made in 2025, when 10 of its 12 technical writers were let go, and earlier this year, when 32 jobs in the finance division were eliminated.

Melanie Perkins addressed staff in a memo, stating that the company had explored various alternatives but concluded that incremental changes were insufficient to address the challenges ahead. Both ABC and SMH report that Perkins will hold a company-wide meeting on November 10 to discuss the changes further. The restructuring is part of a broader trend in Australia’s tech sector, where companies like Atlassian and Wise Tech Global have also announced significant job cuts. Atlassian reduced its workforce by 1,600 jobs earlier this year, while Wise Tech Global cut 2,000 jobs in March, nearly a third of its workforce. These moves reflect the growing pressure on tech firms to adapt to new technological and economic realities.

While both sources agree on the core details of the restructuring, there are slight differences in emphasis and specific figures. ABC highlights the broader context of job cuts across the tech sector, including mentions of Atlassian and Block’s workforce reductions, while SMH focuses more on Canva’s financial challenges, including a 17% reduction in its valuation to $US34.9 billion in August. SMH also notes that Canva’s revenue growth forecast has been downgraded to 20% this year, down from 38% in 2025 and 45% the year before. Additionally, SMH provides more detail on the company’s financial reserves, stating it has over $US1.5 billion in cash and has delayed plans for an initial public offering (IPO) originally expected in 2027.

The restructuring also touches on Canva’s use of artificial intelligence, though the company has not explicitly linked the job cuts to AI. SMH reports that Canva delayed the rollout of its biggest AI-led software update due to the rising costs of serving over 200 million free users, which has increased from 'cents per month' to 'many, many more cents.' This financial strain has contributed to the company’s decision to downsize. Despite the challenges, Canva’s investors, including Blackbird and Airtree, have expressed support for the restructuring, with Blackbird noting that it remains optimistic about the company’s long-term potential. Airtree has extended the life of its first fund, raised in 2014, to July 2028 in anticipation of Canva’s eventual float or another exit strategy.