Canva To Cut Over 1000 Jobs In Major Restructure

Strategic Shift At Canva

Canva, the Sydney-based graphic design software leader, has announced a significant organizational restructure that will result in the loss of 1,271 jobs. This reduction represents approximately 22 percent of the company’s total workforce. Co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins described the decision as the most difficult moment in the company’s thirteen-year history, noting that the move is necessary to set the business up for the next decade of operation.

The decision comes after the company experienced a slowdown in growth this year for the first time in ten years. To address this, Perkins stated that the company needs to “refound” itself by returning to its roots of utilizing small, empowered teams. These teams will be granted more freedom to make decisions, take ownership of their projects, and focus on the needs of the user community. As part of this shift, Canva will merge its platform, growth, and product teams into a single unified product organization while simultaneously reducing management layers to streamline operations.

Operational Changes And Workforce Impact

Beyond the job cuts, the restructure involves a shift in how and where employees work. Sydney will now serve as the primary hub for more product teams. Starting in January, hybrid staff members will be required to work from the office two to three days per week. Because Canva employs people across 37 different countries, the timing of notifications for affected employees will vary to comply with local labor requirements. Those leaving the company will maintain access to internal communication tools like Slack and Gmail until the end of the current week.

While Perkins did not explicitly link the layoffs to the rise of artificial intelligence, she acknowledged that new technology is transforming how people create and what they expect from software. The broader software industry has faced challenges as investors worry that AI might undercut traditional business models. This trend has affected other design firms, with some seeing significant drops in share value despite maintaining revenue growth.

This marks the first company-wide redundancy round for Canva, although it has conducted smaller, targeted cuts in the past. For instance, the company reduced its finance division by 32 roles earlier this year and cut 10 of its 12 technical writers in 2025. These moves mirror a wider trend in the local tech sector, where other major firms have also implemented large-scale job cuts recently.

Financial Pressures And Valuation

The restructure occurs amid shifting financial valuations. Blackbird, a major venture capital backer, reduced its valuation of Canva by 17 percent to $US34.9 billion in August, down from a previous $US42 billion. Another investor, Airtree, followed a similar path. Canva itself lowered its own valuation to $US31 billion and downgraded its revenue forecast by one-third to 20 percent for the current year. This follows stronger growth periods, with sales increasing by 45 percent two years ago and 38 percent in 2025.

Operational costs have also risen due to the integration of AI. Co-founder Cliff Obrecht noted that the cost of serving users has increased significantly, as AI-led updates are more expensive to run than traditional design tools. This cost increase led the company to delay its largest AI software update to protect profits, especially given that over 200 million users access the platform for free.

Regarding its future, Canva has postponed a previously expected initial public offering. While the company maintains $US1.5 billion in cash and says it will list on the market when it makes sense, some backers are feeling the pressure. Airtree has asked investors to extend the life of its first fund to 2028 in hopes of an exit. Meanwhile, departing employees are being offered a support package including at least six months of salary, 12 months of healthcare where applicable, and the ability to keep their work MacBooks. Additionally, they may apply for $US10,000 grants to start their own businesses.