Canva announced layoffs and a shift of more product work to Sydney on November 4, with 1,271 employees, or 22% of its workforce, affected by the overhaul. The total includes role changes and relocation requests; the company did not disclose how many jobs it will cut.
Chief executive and co-founder Melanie Perkins said growth had slowed for the first time in a decade and handovers between teams had made product improvements harder. Canva will combine its product, growth and platform groups and reduce management layers.
Canva’s software lets individuals and businesses create presentations and other visual content. In a September interview with diginomica, co-founder Cameron Adams described its corporate role as helping teams revise AI-generated designs and share branded material across sales, human resources and communications.
Startup Daily reported on August 5 that Canva had cut its 2026 revenue-growth forecast from 30% to 20%. In a shareholder update quoted by the outlet, Perkins said AI tasks cost too much to serve, prompting Canva to slow the rollout while it rebuilt the technology and reduced costs.
June-quarter revenue still rose 25.2% to $922 million, the outlet reported. Adams told diginomica on September 18 that Canva had reduced AI costs per task by 90%, enabling it to extend the features to more users, including free accounts.
Departing employees will receive at least six months’ salary, including statutory entitlements, and can keep their company MacBooks. They can also register interest in $10,000 grants for new businesses or community projects by December 14. Canva will take no equity or ownership in what recipients create.