Canva Cuts 22% of Workforce in Sweeping Restructuring Plan
Australian design giant Canva announced a restructuring plan affecting 1,271 employees, or 22% of its workforce, amid slowing growth and rapid industry shifts.
Australian design giant Canva announced a sweeping restructuring plan affecting 1,271 employees, or roughly 22% of its global workforce, amid a slowdown in growth. The overhaul will involve layoffs, role transitions, and relocations across 37 countries, though the exact number of direct layoffs was not specified.
In a message to employees, co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins described the decision as the most difficult in the company's history. Perkins noted that Canva is facing its first growth deceleration in a decade, compounded by rapid technological shifts in the digital design sector. Founded in 2013, the company provides an online platform for presentations, documents, videos, and graphics, competing directly with industry heavyweights like Adobe while expanding its artificial intelligence toolset.
As part of the reorganization, Canva will merge its product, growth, and platform divisions into a single unit, flatten management layers, and relocate a larger share of product teams to Sydney, Australia. Perkins stated that the current organizational structure had become overly complex, slowing down decision-making and product development. Additionally, starting in January 2027, hybrid employees will be required to work from offices two to three days a week.
Departing employees will receive at least six months of severance pay, statutory benefits, and outplacement assistance. Furthermore, Canva will offer 10,000 dollar grants to departing staff seeking to launch new businesses or community ventures, with the company confirming it will not take equity stakes in those startups.
