Canva restructuring affects 22% of workforce as growth slows

Canva is restructuring its business in a move affecting 1,271 people, or 22% of its workforce, co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins told staff. Employees face redundancies, relocation or changes to their roles. Perkins described the decision as the most difficult moment in the company's 13-year history and said growth had slowed for the first time in a decade.

The company, which employs people across 37 countries, plans to concentrate more product teams in Sydney. From next year, hybrid employees will be expected in the office two to three days a week. The changes follow reported reductions in Canva's valuation, linked to concerns about AI's impact on the business and the cost of introducing the technology.

Canva's tools let people without technical or design expertise produce graphics and presentations. AI is therefore both a product investment and a business concern in this report: the source describes rising implementation costs and investor worries, but does not establish how many jobs will disappear or whether AI directly caused the cuts.