Canva restructures: 1,271 jobs, 22% of the company, affected as growth slows
Australian design platform Canva announced a reorganisation affecting 1,271 people, 22% of its workforce, through job cuts, role changes or relocation to hubs such as Sydney. CEO Melanie Perkins called it the company's hardest moment and said growth has slowed for the first time in a decade.
Canva, the Sydney-based design software company used by hundreds of millions of people, announced on Wednesday, 4 November, a restructuring that will affect 1,271 employees, about 22% of its workforce.
In a note to staff published on the company's newsroom, co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins said some employees will see their roles change or be asked to relocate to centralised hubs, while others will lose their jobs. She called it "without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history" and apologised to those affected. Perkins said it had been "our hardest year yet" and that growth has slowed for the first time in a decade, adding that after exploring alternatives she concluded small changes would not be enough and that the company needs to "refound" itself around small, empowered teams.
The plan has three parts: merging the Product, Growth and Platform groups into a single product organisation; reducing narrow specialisations and management layers; and bringing closely linked teams together, with Sydney becoming the primary home for more product teams. From January, most hybrid employees will be expected in the office two to three days a week. Perkins cited rapid technological change in what people create and how they create it as the backdrop.
Everyone leaving will receive at least six months of salary, 12 months of healthcare cover where offered, career coaching and the chance to keep their company laptop. Canva is also launching a fund giving $10,000 grants to departing staff who want to start their own venture, with applications open until 14 December. A company-wide meeting is scheduled for 10 November.
Canva has teams in 37 countries. The BBC noted that the company has been under pressure over the impact of artificial intelligence on its business and the cost of adding AI to its products, which the company's own note does not spell out.