Canva is reorganizing its business, a move that affects 1,271 employees—about 22% of its workforce—as the design software company responds to slower growth and shifts in the technology sector.
The changes include job cuts, revised responsibilities, relocation requests and a stronger emphasis on working together in person. Canva has not said how many employees will be laid off.
CEO and co-founder Melanie Perkins told staff about the restructuring on Tuesday, calling it the most difficult moment in the company’s 13-year history.
“This has been our hardest year yet, and as we shared earlier this year, our growth has slowed for the first time in a decade,” Perkins wrote.
Canva said new technologies are changing how people make content and what they expect from software. The company plans to reorganize into smaller, more independent teams as it prepares for its next phase.
Product, growth and platform teams will be brought together under one product organization. Canva also intends to reduce management layers, combine overlapping responsibilities and fold some specialized roles into broader positions.
Work locations will change, too. Sydney will become the main base for more product teams and some other departments. Starting in January, most hybrid employees are expected to work in the office two or three days a week, depending on where they are based.
Perkins said Canva’s platform is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. The company has teams in 37 countries.
Employees leaving Canva will receive severance packages that include at least six months of salary, including any legally required entitlements, regardless of their location. In countries where Canva currently offers health coverage, departing employees will also receive 12 months of continued coverage.
Other measures include removing the one-year vesting cliff for employees who joined within the past year, as well as offering career coaching, interview preparation and job-search support.
Canva will also offer $10,000 grants to departing employees who want to launch a business or take on a community project through its new Canva Collective Fund. The company said it will not claim ownership or equity in those projects.
Canva plans to share more about the restructuring and its future direction at a company-wide meeting on Nov. 10.
