On Wednesday, Canva CEO Melanie Perkins announced a restructure affecting twenty-two per cent of the company, with 1,271 people facing job losses, relocation or role changes.
Perkins called the restructure the company’s hardest moment
Perkins wrote to Canva’s more than five thousand employees in a memo. The company has staff in thirty-seven countries. Perkins left university at nineteen to found her first venture. The memo outlined changes affecting staff across the business, including people whose jobs would end and people asked to relocate or change roles.¹²³
Perkins described the restructure as “the hardest moment” in Canva’s history and said she was “deeply sorry for the pain and disruption” it would cause those affected. She said the decision followed months of thinking about how to set up the company for its next chapter.¹²³
The restructure follows earlier reductions at Canva. The company laid off most of its technical writers in 2025 and reportedly cut more than thirty finance roles earlier this year. Other technology companies also announced cuts: Atlassian cut 1,600 staff in February, Block cut 4,000 in April, and Microsoft offered voluntary redundancies to 60,000 employees last week.¹²³
Canva outlined pay and support for departing staff Workers leaving Canva receive at least six months of salary, inclusive of statutory entitlements and regardless of their location.
Canva outlined pay and support for departing staff
Workers leaving Canva receive at least six months of salary, inclusive of statutory entitlements and regardless of their location. Departing employees also receive a year of healthcare coverage and their company MacBook. The salary support applies across locations, while the healthcare and computer provisions add separate benefits for people leaving the company.¹²³
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Read More →Outgoing staff keep access to their work Gmail and Slack accounts until the end of the week. Canva scheduled an all-staff meeting for 10 November, giving employees a set date for a company-wide discussion after the changes were announced.¹²³
Canva is also launching the Canva Collective Fund for employees looking to start a business or new venture. The fund offers grants of up to US$10,000. The support is aimed at staff who want to found a startup, giving departing employees an option to seek funding for a venture after leaving Canva.¹²³
Investors marked down Canva’s value and growth outlook
Canva’s value reportedly fell amid concerns about artificial intelligence’s effect on its business and the cost of adding the technology to its platforms. Blackbird Ventures and Airtree downgraded their valuation from A$60bn at the end of last year to about A$49bn. Those concerns combine questions about AI’s impact on Canva’s business with the expense of incorporating AI into its products.¹²³
T. Rowe Price marked down the value of its Canva shares by twenty per cent, implying a valuation of US$30.4 billion as of August 31. Canva entered 2026 valued at US$40 billion. The figures reflect separate valuation marks: one from T. Rowe Price and another stated for Canva as it entered the year.¹²³
Canva told investors it was reducing projected revenue growth from thirty per cent to twenty per cent.
Canva told investors it was reducing projected revenue growth from thirty per cent to twenty per cent. Blackbird, its biggest shareholder, cut its internal valuation of the company by seventeen per cent. The company also delayed several product launches because serving AI to mostly non-paying customers carried a cost.¹²³
Canva is shifting product roles towards Sydney
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Read More →Canva revealed Craft, its first foundation model, last month. Co-founder Cliff Obrecht said Craft represents a new revenue stream for the company. A foundation model is a core AI system that can support products built on top of it; the disclosure came as the company faced the cost of serving AI to mostly non-paying customers.¹²³
Canva is making Sydney its key product centre and moving an undisclosed number of roles there from its thirty-plus global teams. The shift changes where some product work is based, while the company’s broader workforce remains spread across dozens of countries.¹²³
From January 2027, most of Canva’s hybrid workforce is expected to attend a local office two to three days per week. Canva is also expected to list on the US stock market in 2027, linking the workforce changes and product-centre shift to a period when the company is preparing for a public-market listing.¹²³
AI costs drive design-role shifts
If you are weighing a product or design role, note that Canva cut its projected revenue growth from 30 per cent to 20 per cent and delayed launches because serving AI to mostly non-paying customers cost money. That pressure is pushing companies to concentrate product work in one hub, like Canva moving roles to Sydney. Before accepting a remote design job, ask how AI serving costs affect the team's budget and whether your location is a target for consolidation.¹²³
AI costs drive design-role shifts If you are weighing a product or design role, note that Canva cut its projected revenue growth from 30 per cent to 20 per cent and delayed launches because serving AI to mostly non-paying customers cost money.
For departing staff, the package is unusually strong: at least six months of salary regardless of location, a year of healthcare, and a MacBook. The Canva Collective Fund offers grants up to US$10,000 for a startup. If you face a layoff, negotiate for a similar severance floor and ask whether a venture grant exists. Also note the broader trend: Atlassian cut 1,600, Block cut 4,000, and Microsoft offered voluntary exits to 60,000, so plan for more tech-sector reductions.¹²³
Sources
- forbes.com.au — https://www.forbes.com.au/news/innovation/mass-job-cuts-canva-unveils-major-restructure/
- bbc.co.uk — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw77pg7neydmo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- acs.org.au — https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2026/canva-cuts-jobs-in-major-restructure-affecting-1-200-staff.html
Written by Career Ahead AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify key facts. Report errors to support@careeraheadonline.com
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