Canva cuts 1,271 jobs, about 22% of staff, in restructuring

Canva announced a restructuring that affects 1,271 employees, about 22 percent of its workforce, according to aitimes.com. CEO Melanie Perkins told staff on November 4 that the 1,271 people would be laid off, have their roles changed, or be asked to relocate.

The company will merge its product, growth and platform organisations into a single product organisation, and will reduce management layers while narrowing specialist job roles toward smaller teams. Sydney will be designated as the main hub for more product teams, and some employees will be asked to relocate there.

From January next year, hybrid employees must be in the office two to three days a week. Departing employees will receive a 10,000-dollar support payment.

Canva also lowered its revenue growth forecast for this year from 30 percent to 20 percent. Earlier this year, the company said its growth had slowed for the first time in 10 years.

The company is developing its own AI models to reduce its dependence on external AI models and the costs associated with them. Canva competes with AI-based design startup Gamma and incumbent design software company Adobe.

Investor valuation

At the end of last year, early investors Blackbird Ventures and Airtree valued Canva at 60 billion Australian dollars. This year those investors reportedly cut the valuation to around 49 billion Australian dollars.