Canva Layoffs Hit 22% of Staff as Growth Slows for the First Time

Canva layoffs and a sweeping restructure will affect 1,271 people, or 22% of the design platform’s workforce, co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins told staff on Wednesday. Some employees will change roles or be asked to relocate, while others will leave the Australian company, which says its growth has slowed for the first time in a decade.

In the memo published on Canva’s newsroom, Perkins called it “without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history” and said small changes would not be enough. “To set ourselves up for the next decade, we need to refound Canva,” she wrote, describing a return to small, empowered teams.

What the Canva Restructure Changes

The company is merging its Product, Growth and Platform groups into a single Product Org, cutting management layers and folding narrow specialties into broader roles. Sydney will become the primary home for more product teams, and from January most hybrid employees are expected to work from the office two to three days a week. Canva has teams in 37 countries, so the timing of individual conversations will vary with local rules.

Perkins pointed to fast-moving technology as the backdrop, saying new tools are changing what people create and what they expect from products. The memo itself does not mention AI by name, but the pressure is hard to miss as rivals pack generative features into their apps, from Adobe’s AI-powered Lightroom tools to design features built into AI chatbots.

Severance Package and Support

Departing staff will get at least six months of salary regardless of location, twelve months of continued healthcare where Canva already provides it, and a year of counselling coverage that extends to family members. The one-year vesting cliff is removed for recent hires, and everyone leaving can keep their Canva MacBook.

Canva is also launching a Canva Collective Fund that offers US$10,000 grants to departing employees who want to start their own projects, with no equity taken. Applications are open until December 14, and a company-wide all hands is set for November 10.

Valuation Under Pressure

The cuts follow a tough year for one of Australia’s best known startups. BBC reports that investors Blackbird Ventures and Airtree reportedly marked Canva down from A$60 billion at the end of last year to about A$49 billion, amid concerns over AI’s impact on its business and the rising cost of building AI products.

Canva joins a growing list of tech companies reshaping their workforce this autumn. SUSE recently announced its own round of layoffs, while Microsoft offered voluntary severance packages to 60,000 employees worldwide.