Canva has announced a restructure that will impact 1,271 roles as the design giant reckons with AI disruption and slowing revenue growth.
Canva has announced a major restructure that will impact 1,271 roles after what CEO Melanie Perkins described as the design giant’s “hardest year yet” as it faces slowing growth and AI disruption.
Perkins wrote in a memo to Canva’s 5,000-plus employees explaining that 22 per cent of the company would be cut, have their roles changed or relocated in an effort to “refound Canva,” describing the restructure as necessary to ensure growth over the next decade.
“As we shared earlier this year, our growth has slowed for the first time in a decade,” Perkins wrote. “Success in our first chapter doesn’t guarantee success in the next. This has been our hardest year yet.”
It comes as new filings lodged with the SEC reveal investment titan T. Rowe Price marked down the value of its Canva shares by 20 per cent, down to US$1,189 per share, giving it an implied valuation of US$30.4 billion as of August 31. It is the latest of several investor markdowns the company has endured this year.
Canva entered 2026 valued at US$40 billion and as one of the world’s hottest IPO prospects, with plans to make a bigger debut on the Nasdaq than any Australian tech company before it.
But the company has hit several stumbling blocks. After reorganising its platform around artificial intelligence in what it dubbed Canva 2.0, the company was forced to delay rolling out several products due to the cost of serving AI to its mostly non-paying customers.
Around that time it also told investors it was marking down its projected revenue growth from 30 per cent to 20 per cent. Blackbird, its biggest shareholder, responded by cutting its internal valuation of the company by 17 per cent. US institutions T. Rowe Price and Franklin Templeton followed.
“This is without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history,” Perkins wrote, describing the changes as necessary to cut through bureaucracy and enable smaller, more nimble teams.
“After exploring a wide range of alternatives, I’ve come to the difficult conclusion that small changes won’t be enough. To set ourselves up for the next decade, we need 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.”
Know more? Email: daniel.vanboom@forbes.com.au
Canva is attempting to turn the AI threat into an opportunity. It last month revealed Craft, its first foundation model that it says will allow it to serve frontier-grade AI far more efficiently than it would be able to by relying on models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google. It is giving third-party developers access to the model, which co-founder Cliff Obrecht said represents a new revenue stream for the company.
“Decisions like this are never easy, but we back Canva’s decision to make the changes needed to set the company up for its next chapter,” a Blackbird spokesperson said.
“Canva continues to be one of the most widely used platforms on the internet, and its global reach, growing AI capabilities and strong product foundations put it in a good position to benefit from what AI makes possible.”
Refounding Canva
Alongside Atlassian, Canva became a proponent of remote-first working arrangements during the pandemic. As organisations around the world began pulling staff back to the office, Canva’s policy asked employees to work from their closest hub twice a quarter – and even this requirement was later scrapped.
That will now change. The company is making Sydney its key product centre, moving an undisclosed number of roles there from Canva’s thirty-plus global teams, and mandating regular office work days.
“Working across countries has brought enormous benefits and talent, but it’s also made it harder to bring the right people together to solve complex problems,” Perkins wrote. “From January, we expect most Hybrid Canvanauts to spend around 2 to 3 days in the office each week, depending on what makes sense in your area.”
The restructure will combine Canva’s product, growth and platform teams into one mega product organisation, which Perkins said will allow for more flexibility and autonomy.
Canva is the latest tech company to announce significant layoffs this year. Atlassian slashed 1,600 staff in February, followed by 4,000 at Jack Dorsey’s Block in April. Last week Microsoft offered voluntary redundancies to 60,000 employees as it looks for ways to fund its enormous AI investments.
Departing Canva employees will receive “at least six months” of salary, a year of healthcare coverage and their company MacBook. The company is also launching the Canva Collective Fund, which will grant up to US$10,000 for employees looking to found a startup or new venture.
Update, 10:23am: Adds comment from Blackbird.
Forbes Women is a global network of female business owners, entrepreneurs and changemakers. Sign up to Forbes Women here
Look back on the week that was with hand-picked articles from Australia and around the world. Sign up to the Forbes Australia newsletter here or become a member here.
