Canva is cutting more than 1,000 jobs as the design software company attempts to return to its start-up roots, with billionaire co-founder Melanie Perkins saying the business needs to be “refounded”.
In a letter to employees on Wednesday, Canva’s co-founder and chief executive said 1,271 workers would be affected—equivalent to 22 per cent of the company’s workforce. Some employees will lose their jobs, while others will be asked to move to centralised hubs.
The cuts follow the $44billion company’s admission that its growth had slowed for the first time in a decade. The Sydney-based business is also facing growing concerns that artificial intelligence could disrupt established software companies.
“This is without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history,” Ms Perkins wrote.
“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.”
Daily Mail understands that Canva will combine its product, growth and platform teams into one product organisation and reduce management layers in the company’s first-ever redundancy round.
“We’re simplifying layers, consolidating overlapping responsibilities, and ensuring teams have the right mix of skills and experience for the chapter ahead,” Ms Perkins said.
Canva co-founders Cliff Obrecht, Melanie Perkins and Cameron Adams have agreed to cut more than 1,000 jobs at the design software company
22 per cent of Canva’s workforce will be affected as its product, growth and platform teams are brought together in a single product organisation
From January, hybrid employees will be expected to work from the office two to three days a week
Employees leaving the company will receive at least six months’ salary, along with 12 months of healthcare coverage where Canva provides it. They will also be allowed to keep their work MacBooks.
Staff who “want to pursue an idea” will also be able to apply for grants worth $14,500.
Sydney will serve as the main base for Canva’s product teams, while hybrid employees will be required to work in the office two to three days each week from January.
The job losses come as AI reshapes the software sector and contributes to a series of major redundancy rounds across Australia’s technology industry.
Earlier this year, logistics software company WiseTech Global announced 1,700 job cuts, Atlassian reduced its workforce by 1600 roles and Block, the owner of Afterpay, laid off 4,000 employees, citing productivity gains from AI.
Canva was also forced to postpone the launch of several new products in August.
At the time, Blackbird Ventures, Canva’s biggest Australian backer, lowered the company’s valuation while reaffirming its confidence in Canva’s long-term strategy.
“We back Canva’s judgment to think long term,” Blackbird partner Rick Baker said.
Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins described the restructuring as the “hardest moment” in the company’s 13-year history
‘This will unlock the ability to deliver AI at real scale with unit economics that actually stack up. The Canva AI product is looking great and early signs from users are strong, and that gives me a lot of optimism in what’s next.’
Canva is one of Australia’s most successful start-ups, with its co-founders Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams worth more than $20billion combined.
It was founded in 2013 and has become one of the most popular graphic design, photo and video editing platforms.
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