By Fatma Younis
Australian design platform Canva announced Wednesday it will cut or relocate 1,271 positions, representing 22% of its global workforce, in a major restructuring aimed at collapsing management layers and centralizing teams.
CEO calls it hardest moment in company history
Chief executive Melanie Perkins told staff in an email that the restructure was “without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history.” She said some employees would face role changes or be asked to relocate to centralized hubs, while others would leave the company.
Generous exit packages offered
Departing staff will receive at least six months of salary, retain healthcare coverage for 12 months where applicable, keep their laptops, and can apply for US$10,000 grants to start their own ventures.
Tech sector trend amid AI competition
The move follows similar restructures across the technology sector, including 1,600 redundancies at Atlassian and job losses at Block and WiseTech Global. Companies are responding to competitive pressure from cheaper AI-driven alternatives while integrating AI tools themselves. Canva did not explicitly cite AI in its announcement.
