Technology and Scienceupdated 2h ago2 min read
Canva Lays Off 1,271 Workers, CEO Melanie Perkins Says Restructuring Is Toughest Moment
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1,271 Canva employees affected, about 22% of the workforce. Layoffs, role changes, and relocations are part of the restructuring.
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Canva cuts 22%
Canva announced layoffs and a restructuring that will affect 1,271 people, or 22% of its workforce, as CEO Melanie Perkins told employees that “small changes will not be enough.” Perkins wrote in the note that Canva must become a simpler business and return to operating with small, autonomous teams, while Sydney will become the main headquarters for a larger number of Canva product teams. Canva said it would reduce management layers and merge product, growth, and platform teams, and it also said from January most hybrid workers will be in the office two to three days a week.
Canva is cutting 22% of its staff, amounting to 1,271 people, amid a growth slowdown, and Perkins reshuffled the organizational chart to reduce communication friction. Perkins described the restructuring as “the toughest moment in our 13-year history,” while Canva did not specify how many employees would lose their jobs.
AI costs and competition
Canva’s restructuring came as investors pulled back on software companies, with Bloomberg Línea saying concerns centered on technologies such as Claude from Anthropic PBC potentially cannibalizing business models. Canva had been shipping its own AI models to reduce costs and reliance on third-party models, but it still cut its revenue growth forecast to 20% from 30% to address ballooning AI costs. Perkins wrote that the reorganization aimed to restore smaller, more autonomous teams, and she quoted her as saying “Undoubtedly, this is the toughest moment in our thirteen-year history.”
Canva cut its 2026 revenue growth forecast from 30% to 20% after 38% the year before, and Perkins acknowledged that “the average cost of an AI task was too high.” Bloomberg Línea added that investors had slashed billions of dollars from the value of these companies amid concerns that new technologies could cannibalize their business, while Canva did not directly identify AI as the reason for the restructuring in other coverage.
Support and next steps
Canva said it would provide departure benefits, including at least six months of salary, up to 12 months of healthcare coverage where applicable, and the option to keep work laptops. Remote workers would be required to come to the office two to three days a week starting in January, and employees who leave will receive health coverage for twelve months and will keep their laptops. Canva would provide individual coaching and a one-year LinkedIn Premium subscription, and the company was creating a fund that would award grants of 10,000 US dollars.
Bloomberg Línea said Canva’s restructuring leaves the company in a delicate financial position after its valuation fell from a peak of US$40 billion in 2021 to about US$26 billion a year later, and it said the impact of the latest disruption remains unclear. Perkins told employees that Canva’s reorganization was “the toughest moment in our 13-year history,” while the company’s plan to simplify and operate with small, autonomous teams set the immediate stakes for how it adapts to AI-driven changes in design tools.