Canva Cuts 1,271 Jobs, Offers Six Months’ Pay and $10,000 Grants

Canva announced on Tuesday, November 3, that it is cutting 1,271 jobs, equal to 22 percent of its workforce.

By Career Ahead AI · Global — AI-assisted, fact-verified against cited sources. Readers should verify key facts.

Canva is consolidating teams and shifting more product work to Sydney

Canva co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins said the changes reshape how the company is organised, where some teams are based and which roles it needs. The company is merging its Product, Growth and Platform teams into a single Product Org. Canva says the combination is intended to cut handovers and give teams clearer ownership and more autonomy, bringing those groups under one structure.^¹²

Canva is making Sydney the main base for more of its product teams and asking some employees to relocate. The announced job-cut total includes employees who have been asked to move, so the relocation group is part of the changes rather than an additional group. From January, Canva says most hybrid employees are to work in the office two to three days a week.^¹²

The departure package combines salary, coverage and career support

The package provides everyone leaving with at least six months of salary, including statutory entitlements, regardless of location. Canva also provides twelve months of continued healthcare coverage in countries where it currently offers healthcare. A separate benefit gives departing employees twelve months of Canva Care (EAP), and that coverage extends to family members.^¹²

From January, Canva says most hybrid employees are to work in the office two to three days a week.¹²

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Career support includes one-on-one coaching and interview preparation, along with one year of LinkedIn Premium. Everyone leaving can keep their Canva MacBook. Canva is also offering departing employees grants of $10,000 for future endeavours, adding a cash benefit to the package’s salary, coverage and job-search assistance.^¹²

Departing employees have until December 14, 2026, to register their interest for benefits. Canva says it will not take ownership or equity in what they create. That assurance applies to work created by employees leaving under the changes; the company’s stated terms pair it with the deadline to register interest.^¹²

Executives and business figures put the cuts in context

Jasveer Singh, co-founder and CEO of KnotDating, called the package “a master-class in how to handle layoffs.” Mark Di Stefano, Rear Window editor at The Australian Financial Review, described it as “exceedingly generous.” The comments praised the terms offered to people leaving, including salary, continued benefits and help with their next career steps.^¹²

Perkins described 2026 as Canva’s “hardest year yet”; the company’s growth slowed for the first time in a decade. Canva says it expects 20 percent year-on-year revenue growth in 2026 and that the year marks its 10th consecutive year of profitability. The job cuts sit alongside a business outlook that includes continued revenue growth and another year of profit.^¹²

Canva’s product push includes AI tools and a faster design agent

In April, Canva announced Canva AI 2.0, calling it the company’s “most significant product evolution” since its launch in 2013. That product announcement is part of the company’s recent push into AI. Canva has also been changing how its product teams are organised, combining Product, Growth and Platform under one Product Org as it reshapes roles and team locations.^¹²

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In October, Canva unveiled Craft, its first image-generation foundation model developed in-house by Canva Research, its AI Lab. Canva also said Brush was up to 69 percent faster on general design-editing tasks and 46 percent cheaper per editing task than its previous design agent. Those figures describe the speed and per-task cost of the tool against that earlier agent.^¹²

The job cuts sit alongside a business outlook that includes continued revenue growth and another year of profit.¹²

Read Layoff Terms Before You Sign

When you negotiate a severance package, use Canva's terms as a benchmark. Six months of salary, twelve months of healthcare, and a $10,000 grant for future work set a high bar for what a design-industry employer can offer. If you face a layoff, ask for these specific items, not just a generic payout. The December 14, 2026 registration deadline also shows that benefits can expire, so act quickly to secure what you are owed.^¹²

Canva's restructuring signals that product roles are shifting toward Sydney and that AI tools like Craft and Brush are central to its strategy. If you work in design or product, expect more emphasis on AI-related skills, as the company's own tools are becoming faster and cheaper. Weigh whether your current role aligns with this trend, and consider building expertise in image-generation models or AI-assisted editing to stay relevant in a consolidating market.^¹²