THE ESSENTIALS IN 30 SECONDS

  • The restructure affects 1,271 roles, about 22% of Canva's global workforce, through redundancies, changed roles and relocations; no breakdown has been given.
  • Melanie Perkins said growth slowed this year for the first time in a decade and that new technology is changing how people create.
  • Departing staff get at least six months' salary; product teams will be concentrated in Sydney and hybrid staff will be expected in the office two to three days a week from January.

Canva, the Australian online design company, has announced a restructure affecting 1,271 roles, or about 22% of its global workforce. Co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins set out the plan in a memo to staff on November 4, calling it "without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history." According to HCAMag, it is the first redundancy round since the company was founded in 2013.

What is changing

Not every affected employee will leave. The figure covers job cuts, changed roles and relocations to central hubs, and Canva has not said how many positions will be eliminated outright. The company plans to merge its product, growth and platform teams into a single product organisation and to remove layers of management. Sydney will become the main base for more product teams, which may require some staff to move; Canva currently has employees in 37 countries. From January, most hybrid workers will be expected in the office two to three days a week.

Departing staff will receive at least six months' salary, ABC News reports, and a new fund will offer US$10,000 grants to those who want to start a business or community project. HCAMag, citing other Australian outlets, adds 12 months of healthcare where Canva provides it, the option to keep work laptops and the removal of a one-year equity vesting cliff.

Why now

Perkins told employees that growth had slowed this year for the first time in a decade and that small adjustments would not be enough to prepare the company for its next phase. She also said new technology is changing what people create, how they create it and what they expect from products.

ABC News notes that the announcement did not explicitly mention artificial intelligence. Other coverage draws the connection more directly. The BBC links the restructure to a fall in Canva's value amid concerns about how AI could affect its business, and to the rising cost of building AI into its products. HCAMag reports that Blackbird, Canva's largest venture backer, cut its valuation of the company by 17% to US$34.9 billion in August, against a backdrop of investor fears that AI will undercut software businesses.

Context

Canva is the latest large Australian technology company to reduce headcount this year. Atlassian cut about 1,600 jobs in March, and WiseTech Global announced around 1,700 cuts earlier in 2026, according to HCAMag.