Canva said on Wednesday that 1,271 people, or 22% of its staff, will be affected by a restructuring, after chief executive Melanie Perkins called this its hardest year yet.
Perkins, the company’s co-founder, told staff that for some people the changes mean new roles or being asked to relocate to centralised hubs, and that others will leave the company.
The design software group did not give a split between job losses, role changes and relocations. Its headcount figure is the 22% share of the company.
Perkins tied the decision to slower growth. She said the company’s growth had slowed for the first time in a decade, as it had already told staff.
“This has been our hardest year yet, and as we shared earlier this year, our growth has slowed for the first time in a decade.”
She said she had concluded after looking at alternatives that smaller changes would not be enough, and that Canva needed to “refound Canva” around small teams with more freedom to make decisions.
Perkins described the moment as the hardest in Canva’s thirteen-year history.
The first change brings Product, Growth and Platform together into one Product Org, which Canva said should give clearer ownership and cut handovers between the three.
The second reduces subspecialisation, folding narrower roles into broader ones, and removes management layers and overlapping responsibilities.
The third co-locates closely connected teams. Sydney will become the primary home for more of the product teams, as well as some roles in other specialties.
From January, most hybrid staff are expected to spend around 2 to 3 days in the office each week, depending on their area.
Everyone affected will receive at least six months of salary, inclusive of statutory entitlements, regardless of location.
Canva is also offering twelve months of employee assistance cover that extends to family members, career coaching and an opt-in alumni talent directory.
Departing staff can keep their Canva laptops.
The company is launching the Canva Collective Fund, which will pay US$10,000 grants to departing staff who want to start something of their own.
Those leaving have until 14 December 2026 to register interest in the fund, and Canva said it would take no ownership or equity in what they create.
Affected staff will be invited to individual meetings with a senior leader in their area, and will keep access to Slack and Gmail until the end of the week.
A company-wide meeting is scheduled for 10 November, with team-level sessions from 11 November.
Perkins told the people leaving that the decisions were not “a reflection of the talent, care and dedication people have brought to Canva”.
