On a Wednesday in early November, the chief executive of Canva, the Australian-founded design platform, told her staff that more than a thousand of them would lose their jobs or be moved to new hubs. The decision touches roughly a fifth of the company's global workforce and reaches people who built it from its early days. It arrives at a moment when many software makers feel the cold breath of cheaper artificial intelligence, and it reminds us how a company's story of growth can turn, in a single email, into a story of loss and reorganisation.
Canva to cut or relocate more than 1,200 jobs, 22% of its global workforce, in major restructure
More than 1,200 workers face job losses or forced relocation to centralised hubs, including staff who helped build the company.
The hardest moment in our thirteen-year history
On a Wednesday in early November, the chief executive of Canva, the Australian-founded design platform, told her staff that more than a thousand of them would lose their jobs or be moved to new hubs. The decision touches roughly a fifth of the company's global workforce and reaches people who built it from its early days. It arrives at a moment when many software makers feel the cold breath of cheaper artificial intelligence, and it reminds us how a company's story of growth can turn, in a single email, into a story of loss and reorganisation.
On Wednesday, Melanie Perkins, the chief executive of Canva, sent an email to staff that no founder wants to write. The company was cutting or relocating more than 1,200 jobs, a restructure touching 1,271 people, or about 22% of its global workforce. She called it "without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history," and admitted that the people affected include colleagues who helped build the company into what it is today.
The plan has two faces. Some employees will see their roles change or be asked to move to centralised hubs, a big decision Perkins acknowledged and promised to support. Others will leave. Perkins did not say how the total divides between those two outcomes, and that division will determine how painful the next months feel. The company describes its aim as collapsing layers of management and bringing teams together in person.
For those who go, the package includes at least six months of salary, twelve more months of healthcare where employers customarily provide it, the right to keep their laptops, and access to US$10,000 grants for new ventures.
The news lands in a sector under strain. Atlassian, Block and WiseTech have all cut jobs, and the wider fear of cheaper AI rivals has led many software firms to rethink their models. Canva's absence of any mention of AI sets it apart, and it will be watched closely, along with whether the changes alter plans for its long-discussed Nasdaq listing.
On Wednesday, Canva chief executive Melanie Perkins sent an email to staff telling them the company was cutting or relocating more than 1,200 jobs. She called it "without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history." The restructure covers 22% of the Australian-founded design platform's global workforce, and it includes people who helped build the company.
The company puts the number affected at 1,271. Perkins did not say how many of those would lose their jobs outright and how many would be moved. That distinction matters, because the plan has two parts. Some employees will see their roles change or be asked to relocate to centralised hubs. Others will be let go.
In her email, Perkins said the changes would mean "saying goodbye to teammates and friends who have helped build Canva into what it is today." The company says it is focused on "collapsing layers" of management and on bringing "more teams together in person." On relocation, she acknowledged it was a big decision for those being asked to consider it, and said Canva was committed to making the process as smooth as possible with comprehensive support.
The package for people leaving has several parts. They will receive at least six months of salary. In countries where employers customarily provide healthcare, they will keep that coverage for a further 12 months. They can keep their laptops. They can also apply for US$10,000 (about A$14,000) grants to start their own ventures.
Canva is one of Australia's most successful startups, and it has long been talked about as a candidate for a major listing on the Nasdaq. This announcement puts it among a run of technology companies shrinking or reshaping their workforces. Atlassian has made 1,600 redundancies. Block, the owner of Afterpay, and WiseTech Global, another software company, have also cut jobs.
The backdrop is pressure on software makers from cheaper artificial intelligence competitors, even as the established firms rush to build AI tools into their own products. The term "SaaS-pocalypse" describes the fear that AI could become so capable that specialised software becomes redundant. Established software companies have rejected that threat, but many have overhauled their business models or adopted AI aggressively in response.
There is one notable difference in how Canva has presented its move. Atlassian, Block and WiseTech all mentioned AI in announcing their restructures. Canva did not mention it in its announcement. The company framed the changes around structure, fewer layers and closer in-person collaboration.
What to watch next: how many of the 1,271 roles end in redundancy rather than relocation, and whether the restructure changes the timetable for the long-anticipated Nasdaq listing.
Citações Notáveis
Without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history.— Melanie Perkins, Canva chief executive, in an email to staff
Sadly, it will also mean saying goodbye to teammates and friends who have helped build Canva into what it is today.— Melanie Perkins, Canva chief executive
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