Canva Restructure Puts 1,271 Roles at Risk as Growth Slows

Canva is cutting back its team, with 1,271 people affected by a restructure, according to The Register. That figure represents 22 percent of the Australian design software company's staff, and those workers face redundancy, altered positions or being asked to move.

The company, seen as a rival to Adobe, disclosed the plan through a note chief executive Melanie Perkins sent to employees on Wednesday. The Register reported that the message, called "An important update on our team," does not reference artificial intelligence directly, though it notes that emerging tools are reshaping what users make and how they make it.

Perkins said Canva's expansion had decelerated for the first time in ten years. She wrote that she had weighed many options before deciding minor adjustments would not suffice, and that the business needs to rebuild itself around compact, self-directed groups that can decide quickly and take responsibility.

She did not specify a final tally of redundancies but said the organisation had grown inefficient. Under the plan, Canva will fold its product, growth and platform divisions into one unit, which Perkins said gives clearer ownership and more autonomy. She described the work as flattening management layers, merging duplicate duties and making sure teams hold the right abilities.

Perkins said she was deeply sorry three times in the post. Those losing their jobs will be offered an optional one-to-one session with a senior leader, while everyone else attends two sets of meetings next week, one across the whole company and one with their new teams.

Canva also intends to bring more product staff to its Sydney base and will ask some employees to move, pledging full assistance with the transition. Departing workers keep their company MacBooks and get a minimum of six months' salary, twelve months of health cover, help finding new work and a year of LinkedIn Premium.

Perkins did not cite money troubles as a cause. Canva is privately owned but last year reported 260 million monthly users and $3.5 billion in revenue, and executives have said it is profitable on free cash flow. Canva and Atlassian, two of Australia's best known tech firms, have both cut jobs this year.