Canva is facing a painful transition period as the Australian design powerhouse prepares to slash its workforce by twenty-two percent. Co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins described the move as the most difficult moment in the company’s thirteen-year existence, confirming that 1,271 employees will be affected. While some staff members may find themselves relocating or shifting roles, many others will simply be leaving the firm entirely as part of a broader effort to restructure the business.
The decision comes after what Perkins called the hardest year since the company’s inception, marked by a rare slowdown in growth for the first time in a decade. This downturn coincides with an industry-wide scramble to adapt to generative artificial intelligence, which has created both operational hurdles and financial strain for Canva. The high costs associated with integrating AI into its platform, coupled with fears that new technologies could disrupt its core business model, have weighed heavily on the organization’s stability.
These pressures are reflected in Canva’s plummeting market value, which saw significant downgrades from key backers like Blackbird Ventures and Airtree recently. Once valued at sixty billion Australian dollars, estimates have slid toward forty-nine billion as internal valuations were lowered to account for soaring tech expenses. These financial headwinds have forced leadership to reconsider their global footprint, leading to a strategic shift back toward centralized operations.
As part of this reorganization, Sydney will now serve as the primary hub for more of the company’s product teams. Starting next year, those working under hybrid arrangements will be required to spend two to three days per week in the office. For a startup that scaled rapidly across thirty seven different countries, these mandates signal a departure from previous flexibility in favor of tighter coordination during a volatile era of technological transformation.