Canva Restructuring Affects 22% Of Staff As Layoff Counts Differ
Canva is reorganizing teams and changing roles for 1,271 employees, but reports differ on how many of those people are being laid off.
Canva is making changes affecting 1,271 employees, or 22% of its staff, as it responds to slower growth. The reports differ on the scope of the layoffs: TechCrunch says all 1,271 people are being cut, while The Verge says the figure includes employees whose roles will change or who may be asked to relocate, as well as those losing their jobs.
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What Canva is changing
Co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins told employees that Canva needs a broader reset rather than a series of small adjustments, according to The Verge. TechCrunch reported that Perkins described this as the company’s hardest year and said its growth had slowed for the first time in a decade.
Canva plans to combine its Product, Growth and Platform teams into a single product organization. The Verge says the company will also reduce management layers and consolidate responsibilities that overlap. TechCrunch describes the shift as an effort to reduce communication friction and says employees may be expected to take on a wider range of work as Canva reduces narrow specialization.
Location and work arrangements
The Verge reports that Sydney will become the primary base for more product teams and for some other roles where Canva wants closer collaboration. Perkins said some employees will be asked to relocate to centralized hubs, while others will leave the company, according to the outlet.
Starting in January, Canva expects most hybrid employees to work from an office two to three days a week, depending on their area, The Verge reports. TechCrunch also describes the company as moving toward more in-office work.
For employees leaving Canva, The Verge reports that the company is offering at least six months of salary, 12 months of healthcare coverage and career-support resources. Neither report provides a separate count for employees whose roles will change, those asked to relocate and those who will be laid off under The Verge’s account.
Pressure behind the reset
TechCrunch links the restructuring to slower growth, rising AI costs and competition from AI startups and general-purpose chatbots with image-generation tools. It reports that Canva has been developing its own AI models to reduce costs and reliance on outside providers, but lowered its revenue-growth forecast from 30% to 20%. According to TechCrunch, early investors also reduced their valuation of Canva to about $35 billion earlier this year.
For tech workers considering roles at Canva, the reported changes point to potentially broader responsibilities, a stronger emphasis on working near teammates and new office-attendance expectations. The immediate employment impact remains less clear because the two outlets characterize the 1,271 affected employees differently.
Sources
This story was compiled by AI from the reports below. Read the originals for the full details.