Canva to cut 1,271 roles as it restructures for slower growth
More than one in five Canva workers will face a job cut, role change or relocation as the Australian design company responds to slowing growth.
More than one in five Canva workers will face a job cut, role change or relocation as the Australian design company responds to slowing growth. Chief Executive Melanie Perkins called the restructuring the hardest moment in the company’s 13-year history.
The shake-up affects 1,271 roles, or 22% of Canva’s workforce of more than 5,000. Some employees will lose their jobs; others will be asked to move to centralised hubs. The changes mark a sharp reset for a company that entered 2026 valued at US$40 billion and seen as a major potential Nasdaq listing.
A return to smaller teams
Perkins told staff the company’s growth had slowed for the first time in a decade. In a memo, she said Canva had considered alternatives but concluded that smaller adjustments would not be enough to prepare the business for its next decade.
Her plan is to “refound Canva” by returning to smaller teams with greater freedom to make decisions and take ownership. Canva will combine its product, growth and platform teams into one product organisation and remove layers of management.
The restructuring also changes where and how some employees work. Sydney will become the main base for more product teams, while hybrid staff will be expected in the office two to three days a week from January. For workers, the announcement therefore brings more than potential job losses: it also raises questions about relocation and new workplace arrangements.
Pressure on growth and expectations
Canva’s reset comes as the company faces disruption from artificial intelligence and a series of investor markdowns. A recent filing showed T. Rowe Price had reduced the value it placed on its Canva shares by 20%, implying a company valuation of US$30.4 billion as of August 31. Canva had started the year valued at US$40 billion.
The figures point to a tougher backdrop for a company once regarded as one of the world’s hottest IPO prospects. They do not, on their own, establish a wider trend across Australia’s technology industry. But the scale of Canva’s cuts puts a prominent Australian tech company’s response to slower growth and AI-related disruption in clear view.
Perkins described the decision as “without doubt the hardest moment” in Canva’s history. The next test will be whether the new structure can restore the growth the company says has slowed, while employees navigate job losses, relocations and changes to their teams.
