Canva restructures, affecting 22% of staff through layoffs or relocation

Australian design software maker Canva, which has become a challenger to Adobe, is restructuring, affecting 1,271 employees, or 22 percent of its workforce, through layoffs, role changes, or relocation requests. CEO Melanie Perkins announced the changes in a staff message titled "An important update on our team." The message does not mention AI, but it does state that "new technology is transforming what people can create, how they create it, and what they expect from the products they use." Perkins separately observed that Canva's rate of growth recently slowed for the first time in a decade.

Reorganization and affected staff

Perkins said small changes would not be enough and that Canva needs to "refound" itself with small, empowered teams. The changes combine Canva's product, growth, and platform teams into a single Product Org, with the aim of clearer ownership, greater autonomy, and flexibility. She described the changes as simplifying layers, consolidating overlapping responsibilities, and ensuring teams have the right mix of skills and experience. Affected staff will receive a calendar invite for an optional individual meeting with a senior leader, while remaining staff will attend two rounds of meetings next week: one company-wide and another with their reorganized teams.

Relocation and severance support

Canva will move more of its product teams to its headquarters in Sydney, Australia, and will ask some staff to relocate with promised comprehensive support. Departing staff can keep company-issued MacBooks, receive at least six months' pay, a year of health insurance, and support to find a new job, including a one-year LinkedIn Premium membership. Perkins apologized three times in the message.

Company background

Perkins did not cite financial pressures as a reason for the layoffs. Canva is privately held and does not face the same financial disclosure requirements as a listed business, but last year it reported 260 million monthly users and revenue of $3.5 billion. Executives have previously claimed the company is profitable on a free-cash-flow basis. Canva and Atlassian are among Australia's most successful technology businesses, and both have announced job cuts this year.

Sources: The Register