Canva said on Wednesday that a restructure will affect 1,271 employees, about 22% of its global workforce. Co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins shared the news with staff in a memo. It is the first company-wide redundancy round in the Sydney-based design firm's 13-year history.
Perkins said growth slowed this year for the first time in a decade, and the company needed bigger changes to fix it. Not every affected employee will lose their job. Some will move to new roles, while others may be asked to relocate. Canva has not disclosed how many positions will be eliminated.
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In her letter to staff, Perkins wrote, "This is without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history." She said the company must simplify layers, merge overlapping duties, and make sure teams have the right mix of skills.
Canva will combine its product, growth and platform teams into a single product organization. Sydney will become the main base for more product teams. Employees working under the hybrid arrangement will be expected to come to the office two to three days a week starting in January.
Departing employees will get at least six months of salary and 12 months of healthcare where Canva provides it. They can also keep their work laptops, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
The AFR reported that the package also removes the one-year equity vesting cliff. Through a new Canva Collective Fund, departing staff can apply for USD 10,000 grants to start their own ventures, news.com.au reported.
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The restructuring follows a decline in Canva's valuation. In August, Blackbird, its largest venture backer, cut its valuation of the company by 17% to USD 34.9 billion. Investors worry that artificial intelligence could hurt software businesses.
Information Age understands that the rise of AI tools is also changing the skills Canva needs and how it builds its teams.
Canva is the latest Australian tech firm to cut jobs. Atlassian cut 1,600 jobs in March, including 480 in Australia, and WiseTech Global announced job cuts earlier this year.