- Canva's restructuring will affect 1,271 employees, representing 22 per cent of its workforce.
- The company says growth has slowed for the first time in a decade.
- AI competition, changing user expectations and rising operating costs are adding pressure on software businesses.
Canva is restructuring its global workforce, affecting 1,271 employees, or 22 per cent of its staff, as the Australian design software company responds to slowing growth and rapid changes in the technology industry. The move includes job cuts, changes to existing roles and relocation of some employees to centralised offices.
Co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins told employees that the company needed to "refound Canva" and return to smaller, more independent teams. The announcement comes after the company recorded its first slowdown in growth in a decade, raising questions about how even established technology businesses are adapting to the changing economics of artificial intelligence (AI).
The company, which has more than 265 million monthly users across 37 countries, is also facing growing pressure to simplify its operations and rethink how it develops and delivers products.
Why is Canva restructuring its workforce?
Perkins described the decision as the most difficult moment in the company's 13-year history. She said the company had considered several alternatives before concluding that smaller adjustments would not be enough to prepare it for the next decade.
"This is without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history," she reportedly told employees.
Canva plans to combine its product, growth and platform teams into a single product organisation, reducing management layers and overlapping responsibilities.
The company also wants to move away from highly specialised teams towards broader roles, giving employees greater ownership of projects and allowing decisions to be made more quickly.
Sydney will become the primary base for more product teams, with some employees asked to consider relocating. From January 2027, most hybrid employees will also be expected to work from an office two to three days a week, depending on their location.
Is artificial intelligence changing Canva's business model?
Although Perkins did not directly blame AI for the job cuts, she acknowledged that new technology was transforming what people create, how they create it and what they expect from digital products.
That shift is particularly significant for Canva, whose business revolves around making design accessible to people without professional graphic design skills.
AI-powered tools are increasingly allowing users to generate images, presentations and other creative content with simple text instructions. This is changing competition in the design software market and putting pressure on established platforms to offer more than traditional editing features.
The financial implications are also becoming harder to ignore. Canva has previously highlighted the rising cost of running AI-powered services, particularly when they are offered to a large number of free users.
In August, co-founder Cliff Obrecht reportedly said the cost of serving a user had increased from a few cents a month to considerably more as AI capabilities expanded.
The company had also delayed the rollout of a major AI-led software update amid concerns about the cost of operating these services.
The pressure is not limited to Canva. Rival design platform Figma has also faced investor concerns about how AI could change the software market. Its shares have fallen sharply this year, despite revenue growth, reflecting wider uncertainty about the long-term prospects of established software businesses.
Canva's own financial position has also come under scrutiny. Its largest venture capital backer, Blackbird, reportedly reduced its valuation of the company by 17 per cent to $34.9 billion in August, while Canva's internal valuation was also marked down to around $31 billion.
The company had previously forecast revenue growth of 20 per cent for 2026, down from 38 per cent in 2025 and 45 per cent in 2024. The slowdown has added to questions about its future growth and the expectations of investors who have backed the business.
What happens to the employees affected by the restructuring?
Canva has outlined a support package for employees leaving the business, including at least six months' salary, 12 months of healthcare coverage in countries where it provides the benefit and career transition assistance.
Departing employees will also be allowed to keep their company MacBooks. The company is offering $10,000 grants through a new Canva Collective Fund for those interested in starting their own businesses or community projects.
The restructuring will also change working arrangements for employees who remain. Sydney will become a more important operational hub, while hybrid workers will be expected to spend two to three days a week in the office from January 2027.
The company is due to hold a staff meeting on November 10 to explain the changes and answer questions.
Canva has long been viewed as a potential candidate for a major stock market listing, with an initial public offering (IPO) previously expected around 2027.
However, that timeline has reportedly been shelved as the company focuses on restructuring and adjusting its growth strategy.
Instead of listing, Canva has relied on private share sales to provide opportunities for employees and early investors to sell some of their holdings. It has also said it has more than $1.5 billion in cash and is in no rush to enter the public markets.
The delay has implications for venture capital investors who have held stakes in the company for years and are looking for an eventual exit.
For Canva, the immediate challenge is to maintain its position in a market being reshaped by AI while controlling costs and finding new sources of growth. Its restructuring suggests that even a widely used technology platform may need to rethink its business model as the industry changes.
