Canva announces major job cuts after 'our hardest year yet'

Canva has announced a major business reshuffle after what CEO Melanie Perkins called the company’s hardest year. The changes affect 22% of its workforce. They include job cuts, changed roles, relocations, and a greater concentration of product teams in Sydney.

The company has staff in 37 countries, but Sydney will become the primary home for more product teams. Some employees will be asked to move to centralised hubs or take different roles. Others will lose their jobs, meaning Canva will say goodbye to teammates who helped build it.

From next year, hybrid workers will also be expected to spend two to three days in the office. Canva linked the changes to slower growth, AI-related pressure, and the cost of adding new technology to its platforms. Perkins described the decisions as significant and incredibly hard.

The announced shake-up is large: it affects 22% of Canva’s workers. In total, 1,271 people will either lose their jobs, be asked to relocate, or change roles. That makes the announcement more than a routine restructuring; it affects over one-fifth of the company’s workforce.

The consequences will differ between employees. Some will leave Canva, while others will remain but take new positions or move to centralised hubs. The company has staff across 37 countries, so the relocation plans could affect workers in several locations. Sydney will become the primary home for more product teams.

Canva has not described every affected role in the announcement. It has said that hybrid employees will be expected to spend two to three days in the office from next year. The scale reflects Canva’s slower growth and pressure from AI costs and competition.

Canva is a company that helps people create professional-looking visual materials without technical skills or a design background. Its appeal comes from making design more accessible through ready-made templates and simple creation tools. The platform supports both personal and business projects.

Examples include wedding invitations and business pitch decks. Users can start with templates and use Canva’s tools to produce graphics and presentations. This lets people create polished-looking work without needing the specialist design background that might otherwise be required.

Canva launched in 2013 after co-founder Melanie Perkins left university at 19 to start her first venture. It has since grown into a business with staff in 37 countries. The company is now adapting its products as new technology changes what people can create and what they expect from digital tools.

Employees affected by Canva’s changes will face different outcomes. Some will lose their jobs. Others will remain with the company but change roles or move to centralised hubs. Perkins said the decision would mean saying goodbye to teammates and friends who helped build Canva.

The location of work is also changing. Sydney will become the primary home for more of Canva’s product teams. This means some employees may be asked to relocate there or to another centralised hub. The article does not specify which individual roles or countries will be affected.

Working arrangements will change too. From next year, hybrid workers will be expected to spend two to three days in the office. These measures accompany Canva’s broader restructuring during a year of slower growth, falling reported valuation, and increased AI-related expenses.

AI is both a competitive challenge and a major expense for Canva. The company said new technology is transforming what people can create, how they create it, and what they expect from products. Those changes could put pressure on Canva’s existing design tools and business model.

At the same time, Canva is reportedly paying heavily to incorporate AI into its platforms and roll out new products. The technology therefore creates costs before it produces clear business benefits. Canva also faces the challenge of keeping its products useful as users gain new ways to make visual content.

The article links these pressures to concerns about Canva’s value and slower growth. Its backers reportedly reduced the company’s valuation, while Canva also cut its internal valuation amid soaring AI expenses. The workforce changes come as Canva adjusts to this rapidly changing technology environment.

Investors reportedly reduced Canva’s valuation because the company’s growth slowed and its future became harder to assess. Perkins said growth had slowed for the first time in a decade. That was a major change for a company whose earlier expansion had supported a much higher reported value.

AI added another concern. New technology could change what users expect from design platforms, while Canva faced soaring costs to incorporate AI and launch new products. Together, slower growth and AI uncertainty made the business appear less valuable to two backers, Blackbird Ventures and Airtree.

Earlier this year, those investors reportedly reduced Canva’s valuation from A$60bn at the end of the previous year to about A$49bn. Canva also reportedly cut its own internal valuation. These figures are estimates of business value, not direct measures of Canva’s revenue or profit.

A company’s valuation is an estimate of the business’s total worth at a particular time. It can reflect expectations about future growth, competitive strength, technology, and risk. For Canva, the article reports valuations of A$60bn and about A$49bn, based on reported assessments by backers.

Revenue is different. It is the money a company receives from selling products or services before operating costs are removed. Profit is the amount left after expenses such as wages, offices, technology, and other costs are deducted from revenue. A company can have high revenue but low or negative profit.

Valuation is therefore not the same as money Canva earns or keeps. It is a judgment about the company’s overall worth and prospects. In Canva’s case, slower growth and AI expenses reportedly contributed to lower valuations, even though the article does not give revenue or profit figures.