Canva is cutting 1,271 roles, or about 22 percent of its workforce. Co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins told staff on Tuesday that the company needs to be rebuilt from the ground up rather than trimmed.
“For some people, this will mean changes to their roles or being asked to relocate to centralised hubs,” Perkins wrote. “Sadly, it will also mean saying goodbye to teammates and friends who have helped build Canva into what it is today.”
A smaller company, by design
Perkins said leadership considered lighter options first and decided they would not be enough. “After exploring a wide range of alternatives, I’ve come to the difficult conclusion that small changes won’t be enough,” she said. “To set ourselves up for the next decade, we need to refound Canva.”
Her stated goal is a return to “small, empowered teams with the freedom to make decisions” and take real ownership of their work. Read plainly, that is an argument for fewer managers and fewer layers between designers and the product.
What actually changes
The company is folding its Product, Growth and Platform teams into a single product organisation. It is also simplifying layers and consolidating responsibilities that had started to overlap. Sydney becomes the primary home for more product teams, along with roles in specialties where shared context matters most.
Starting in January, Canva will expect most hybrid employees to spend two to three days a week in an office. The exact pattern will depend on the team and the location.
The package for people leaving
Departing staff get at least six months of salary and twelve months of healthcare coverage. Canva is also offering career support resources. The company has not said how many of the cuts land in each office.
A pattern across the sector
Canva is not alone this week. Squarespace announced layoffs affecting 19 percent of its staff one day earlier. Both companies are reshaping themselves around smaller teams while pushing more design and engineering work through automation.
Canva has spent the past year shipping AI features fast, including its own image model. The bet now is that fewer people can ship the same roadmap. Whether that holds up will be measured over the next two quarters, not in a memo.
Source: The Verge. Related reading on this site: Canva Launches Craft, Its First In-House AI Image Model and Why Tech Keeps Blaming AI for Its 2026 Layoffs.
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