Canva, the Australian design platform used by small businesses, students and creators around the world, Nigeria included, is restructuring 1,271 roles, about 22% of its workforce. Co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins announced the changes to staff on 4 November, Sydney time, in a memo the company also published, according to Forbes Australia and HCAMag.
It is the first round of cuts in Canva's 13-year history. Not every affected role will disappear: some staff will leave, some will have their jobs changed and others will be asked to move to central hubs. Canva has not said how many roles will be made redundant outright.
Why Canva is doing it
"As we shared earlier this year, our growth has slowed for the first time in a decade," Perkins wrote, as quoted by Forbes Australia. She called it "without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history" and said that after exploring alternatives she had concluded that "small changes won't be enough".
Her answer is to "refound Canva, getting back to our roots of small, empowered teams". Product, growth and platform teams will merge into a single product organisation, management layers will be cut, and Sydney becomes the main base for more product teams. From January, most hybrid staff are expected in the office two to three days a week.
Perkins tied the change to wider shifts in software as AI changes how people create content and how companies work, Investing.com reports. Canva has been building its own AI tools, including the Craft image model it launched last month.
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- At least six months' salary
- 12 months of healthcare where Canva provides it, plus career support
- Their work laptops
- Removal of the one-year vesting cliff on shares for recent hires
- The option to apply for US$10,000 grants from a new Canva Collective Fund to start their own ventures
A company-wide meeting on the changes is set for 10 November.
A valuation under pressure
Canva entered 2026 valued at about US$40 billion, according to Forbes Australia. Its largest venture backer, Blackbird, cut its valuation of the company by 17% to US$34.9 billion in August, HCAMag reports, as investors worry that AI tools will undercut software businesses. Forbes Australia also reports that T. Rowe Price marked its holding to an implied US$30.4 billion.
