Canva, Australia’s most famous startup, has announced the hardest moment in its 13-year history: a sweeping restructure affecting 1,271 people, or 22% of its workforce.
Key Points
- Some 1,271 people, or 22% of Canva’s staff, will lose their jobs, change roles or relocate to central hubs, CEO Melanie Perkins said in a note posted on the company’s website on 4 November.
- Perkins did not specify how many will lose their jobs outright, as opposed to changing roles or relocating.
- The company said growth had slowed for the first time in a decade, and it lowered its projected 2026 revenue growth from 30% to 20%.
- Departing staff will receive at least six months’ salary, 12 months’ healthcare coverage where provided, career support, their Canva MacBook and access to $10,000 startup grants.
The hardest year yet
Perkins, who co-founded Canva with Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams, described the reorganisation as “the hardest moment in our 13-year history” and the past year as the company’s “hardest year yet”. The numbers behind it are stark: annualised revenue of $3.69bn against an internal target of $5.2bn, according to reporting of the announcement, and a valuation marked down by major investors to between $31bn and $34.9bn from a peak of $42bn.
The restructure merges the Product, Growth and Platform teams into a single Product Org, makes Sydney the main base for more product teams, and asks most hybrid staff to spend two to three days a week in the office from January. It is, in Perkins’ framing, an effort to “refound” Canva as a simpler business run by small, empowered teams.
A software-wide reckoning
Canva is not alone. The announcement mirrors a broader upheaval across software, as AI tools change what design and content work looks like and growth slows after a decade of expansion. Perkins did not explicitly blame AI in her note, but the industry reading is clear: companies that grew by adding people are now reorganising around tools that do some of that work.
What sets Canva’s package apart is its generosity by layoff standards: at least six months’ salary regardless of location, a year of healthcare, one-on-one coaching, a year of LinkedIn Premium, the laptop, and a $10,000 grant — with no equity taken — for anyone who wants to start a venture, with registration open until 14 December. An all-hands meeting on 10 November will take staff questions.
What happens next
Canva has been preparing for a potential listing, and the overhaul leaves that ambition in a delicate balance: leaner, but with a workforce that has just been told the company’s hardest chapter is now. Whether the “refounding” works will be judged by the next growth numbers — and by whether the people who leave build the startups Canva is now funding.