Canva Layoffs: 1,271 Roles Cut in 2026 Restructure

Canva has announced a major restructure that will affect 1,271 people, about 22 percent of its workforce. Chief executive Melanie Perkins shared the news with staff on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, in a memo titled “An important update on our team.” Some of those affected will lose their jobs, while others will see their roles change or be asked to relocate to central hubs. Canva has not said how many of the 1,271 roles are outright redundancies.

Image: Canva

Perkins called 2026 the company’s “hardest year yet” and said growth has slowed for the first time in a decade. She wrote that small changes would not be enough, and that Canva needs to “refound” itself around small, empowered teams with the freedom to make decisions and focus on what matters most for its community. The memo does not name artificial intelligence as a reason for the cuts, though it notes that new technology is changing what people can create, how they create it, and what they expect from the products they use.

What is changing at Canva

The restructure makes three main changes to how Canva is organised:

Canva is merging its Product, Growth and Platform teams into a single Product Org, aimed at giving teams clearer ownership and reducing handovers.
Management layers are being cut as part of the same simplification.
Sydney will become the main base for more of Canva’s product teams, and some staff will be asked to relocate. From January, most hybrid staff will be expected to spend two to three days a week in the office.

Perkins will discuss the changes with staff at a company All Hands meeting on November 10, with team-level meetings following from November 11.

Support for departing staff

Canva has set out a support package for everyone leaving as part of the changes:

At least six months of salary, including statutory entitlements, regardless of location.
Twelve months of continued healthcare where Canva provides it.
Departing staff can keep their work laptops, and will receive a one-year LinkedIn Premium membership, according to The Register.
Grants of US$10,000 from the new Canva Collective Fund for departing staff who want to start something of their own. Those interested have until December 14 to register, and Canva says it will take no ownership or equity in what they create.
An opt-in alumni directory, plus an optional individual meeting with a senior leader.

Why now

The announcement follows a difficult few months for the Sydney-based company. In August 2026, Canva cut its 2026 revenue growth forecast from 30 percent to 20 percent, according to Business Insider. In the same month, investor Blackbird cut its valuation of Canva by 17 percent to US$34.9 billion, according to Human Resources Director.

Reports of a fresh round of cuts had already surfaced before the announcement. On November 2, Capital Brief reported rumours inside the company of another round of redundancies in November or a possible hiring freeze, according to The Economic Times. Canva had previously cut 32 roles from its technical content team in March 2025. This is the first redundancy round in Canva’s 13-year history, according to Human Resources Director.

Canva is one of Australia’s most prominent technology companies and a challenger to Adobe, with more than 265 million monthly users. The Business Times reports the company has been preparing for a potential listing. The Register notes that Atlassian, Australia’s other big software success story, has also announced job cuts this year.

What it means for Canva users

For people who use Canva, the important point is what has not changed. Canva has not announced any changes to its products, plans or pricing alongside the restructure. The changes are internal, covering team structure, office locations and roles, so the design platform itself keeps running as normal.

Canva was also recently named by Apple among the everyday apps gaining touchscreen controls on its new MacBook Pro, a reminder of how widely used the platform is beyond its Sydney home.

For now, the story is about the people behind the platform, not the platform itself. A total of 1,271 roles are changing, and Canva says the reset is meant to set it up for its next decade.

Sources: The Register, The Business Times, Human Resources Director, Melanie Perkins on LinkedIn

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