Canva will cut, change or relocate 1,271 roles, equivalent to 22% of its workforce, chief executive Melanie Perkins said in a note to employees posted on the company's website, as reported by The Straits Times (straitstimes.com). The Sydney-based design software maker acted after growth slowed for the first time in a decade, according to the same report.
The announcement was made by sharing Perkins's message to staff, titled "An important update on our team", which The Register (theregister.com) reports does not mention artificial intelligence by name. Instead, Perkins wrote that "New technology is transforming what people can create, how they create it, and what they expect from the products they use." Neither source states how many of the 1,271 affected staff will lose their jobs outright rather than change roles or relocate; The Straits Times notes Perkins did not specify the split.
What the restructuring actually changes
The reorganisation combines Canva's product, growth and platform teams into a single "Product Org". Perkins described the intent as "simplifying layers, consolidating overlapping responsibilities, and ensuring teams have the right mix of skills and experience for the chapter ahead", according to The Register. The Straits Times reports she said the company needs to become a simpler business and return to running small, empowered teams, with fewer niche specialisations. In her message, Perkins framed the move as a refounding rather than a trim. "After exploring a wide range of alternatives, I've come to the difficult conclusion that small changes won't be enough," she wrote, adding that Canva needs "to refound Canva, getting back to our roots of small, empowered teams with the freedom to make decisions, take ownership and focus on what matters most for our community." She called the reorganisation "the hardest moment in our 13-year history" and described herself as "deeply sorry" three times, according to The Register. Geography is part of the change. Sydney will become the main base for more of Canva's product teams, and some staff will be asked to relocate to central hubs, with the company promising "comprehensive support". The Straits Times reports that most hybrid staff will spend two to three days in the office a week from January, with more people working face-to-face.The financial context
Perkins did not cite financial pressure as a reason for the cuts, and Canva is privately held, so it does not carry the disclosure obligations of a listed company. The Register notes that the company last year revealed 260 million monthly users and revenue of $3.5 billion, and that executives have previously claimed it is profitable on a free-cash-flow basis. That combination — a profitable, scaled business restructuring anyway — is the detail that makes this more than a routine cost exercise. The Straits Times places the move in a wider pattern: artificial intelligence is allowing people to do more on their own without specialist programmes, while companies are using AI to operate with fewer workers. The Register notes that Canva and Atlassian, two of Australia's most celebrated technology businesses, have both announced job cuts this year. Neither source provides figures on AI-related role creation at Canva, so the balance of the reallocation remains unclear.Departure terms and next steps
Affected staff will receive a calendar invite for an optional individual meeting with a senior leader, while remaining employees attend two rounds of meetings next week, one company-wide and one with their reorganised teams, The Register reports. Departing staff can keep their company-issued MacBooks and will receive at least six months' pay, a year of health insurance and support finding new work, including a one-year LinkedIn Premium membership.Why It Matters
Canva has built its position as a challenger to Adobe on accessibility and volume: a design platform used by non-specialists rather than trained designers. If new technology is lowering the barrier to producing visual work, the same force that expands Canva's addressable market also compresses the need for specialist roles inside the company. The 22% figure is large enough to be read as a statement about how the company expects creative software work to be organised, not merely a correction after a slower year. For operators across design and creative SaaS, the signal is that headcount plans are being rebuilt around product and platform ownership rather than layered specialisms. For investors in private software companies, the relevant question is whether Canva's claimed free-cash-flow profitability holds through a restructuring of this size, and whether the consolidated Product Org shortens the path from decision to shipped feature.Risks and Unknowns
Several things remain unresolved. Neither source says how many of the 1,271 people will leave versus change roles, nor which functions absorb the largest reductions. The Register notes the CEO's message does not mention AI, so the link between the restructuring and AI tooling is inferred from the language about new technology and from The Straits Times' broader industry framing rather than stated as a cause. Canva's private status means there is no published restructuring charge, no segment-level revenue disclosure and no guidance to test the "refounding" against. Relocation requirements also carry execution risk: asking staff to move to Sydney can produce attrition beyond the announced numbers.Commercial Impact
Recruitment in the creative software niche is likely to tighten at the specialist end while demand holds for product, platform and growth generalists. Vendors selling design and content tooling should expect buyers to test whether AI features reduce the need for seats, which cuts against per-seat pricing models. Canva's decision to concentrate product teams in Sydney also affects how the company competes for talent against local peers, including Atlassian, which The Register notes has also cut jobs this year.FY Outlook
The next observable milestones are the two rounds of staff meetings next week, the January shift to two to three office days for hybrid staff, and any subsequent disclosure from Canva on how the Product Org is structured. Because the company is private, evidence of whether the refounding works will arrive indirectly: through product release cadence, hiring patterns in Sydney and any future comment on user and revenue figures. Until then, the 22% figure should be treated as a confirmed restructuring scope, not as confirmation of an AI-driven headcount strategy.Sources and References
- The Register — theregister.com
- The Straits Times — straitstimes.com
