Canva restructuring hits 1,271 staff, 22% of its workforce
- Canva’s restructuring affects 1,271 people, or 22% of its workforce.
- Canva is merging its Product, Growth and Platform teams into one Product Org.
- Departing staff get at least six months of salary, regardless of location.
- CEO Melanie Perkins says Canva’s growth slowed for the first time in a decade.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Canva is reorganizing its teams, moving more roles to Sydney and cutting jobs in a restructuring that affects 1,271 people, or 22% of its workforce. The design platform’s co-founder and CEO, Melanie Perkins, said growth has slowed for the first time in a decade.
For some employees the change means changes to their roles or a request to relocate to a central hub. Others are leaving the company.
‘Our hardest year yet’
Perkins announced the changes in a note to staff on Nov. 3, which Canva published on its newsroom. She called it “the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history.”
“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,” Perkins wrote. She said small changes would not be enough and that Canva needs to “refound” itself around small, empowered teams.
One product org, fewer layers
Canva is merging its Product, Growth and Platform teams into a single Product Org to cut handovers and give teams clearer ownership. It is also folding narrow subspecialties into broader roles and collapsing layers.
Sydney will become the primary home for more product teams. From January, most hybrid employees are expected to spend around two to three days a week in the office.
Six months’ pay and a startup fund
Everyone leaving will receive at least six months of salary, including statutory entitlements, regardless of location. Canva will also provide 12 months of continued healthcare where it currently offers it, career coaching and one year of LinkedIn Premium, and departing staff can keep their company laptops.
A new Canva Collective Fund will offer US$10,000 grants to departing employees who want to start something of their own, with no equity taken.
AI costs and competition
Canva cut its revenue growth forecast to 20% from 30% to absorb rising AI costs, and faces competition from AI startups and chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini, TechCrunch reported. The company has teams in 37 countries and will follow local processes for the conversations, with a company all-hands set for Nov. 10.
What it means for employers
Canva’s note does not say which countries are most affected. Canva has had a Manila team since 2014, as we reported in 2020. The note’s message is that Canva wants closely connected product teams in one place, while keeping global staff where being near customers and markets matters most.
Employers reshaping teams around artificial intelligence (AI) can weigh offshore outsourcing for roles that do not need to sit in a central hub, and compare options in OA’s ultimate guide to outsourcing.
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