Canva Layoffs 2026: 1,271 Employees Affected as Company Announces Major Restructuring Amid 'Hardest Year Yet'

Canva is undertaking one of the biggest restructurings in its 13-year history, with 1,271 employees affected as the Australian-founded design platform responds to slowing growth and prepares for its next phase.

Co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins announced the changes in an internal message to staff on 3 November, describing the decision as 'without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history'.

The affected employees represent approximately 22 per cent of Canva's workforce, although the company has not disclosed how many will actually lose their jobs.

Canva Admits Growth Has Slowed for the First Time in a Decade

In her announcement, Perkins acknowledged that the company had experienced its 'hardest year yet', revealing that its growth had slowed for the first time in ten years.

The restructuring follows an earlier reduction in Canva's 2026 revenue growth forecast, which reportedly dropped from 30 per cent to 20 per cent in August. The company is also operating in an increasingly competitive technology industry, where artificial intelligence is changing how people create designs, presentations and other digital content.

Perkins explained that Canva needed to make substantial changes rather than relying on smaller adjustments to its existing organisational structure.

'Success in our first chapter doesn't guarantee success in the next,' she wrote, arguing that the business needed to return to the smaller, more empowered teams that helped it grow during its early years.

Canva's announcement did not explicitly identify artificial intelligence as the reason for the restructuring. Instead, Perkins pointed to technological changes and the need to adapt to evolving expectations from customers.

1,271 Employees Face Layoffs, Relocations or Role Changes

The 1,271 affected employees will not all necessarily be made redundant. According to the company's announcement, some will be asked to take on different responsibilities, while others may need to relocate to centralised offices.

Canva plans to bring its Product, Growth and Platform teams together under one Product organisation. The move is intended to reduce unnecessary coordination, simplify decision-making and give employees greater responsibility for projects.

The company is also reducing specialised roles and management layers to create broader teams with more ownership over their work.

Sydney will become the primary location for more of Canva's product teams, alongside certain other specialised roles. The company also plans to increase in-person collaboration, with most hybrid employees expected to work from an office approximately two to three days a week from January.

Canva currently operates across 37 countries, meaning the restructuring process and individual employee discussions will vary depending on local requirements.

Canva Offers Departing Employees Six Months' Salary

Despite the scale of the restructuring, Canva has outlined a support package for employees leaving the company.

Everyone departing through the changes will receive at least six months' salary, inclusive of statutory entitlements, regardless of their location. The package also includes career assistance, wellbeing support and access to healthcare benefits for 12 months in countries where the company provides that coverage.

Employees will also be allowed to keep their company-issued laptops. Additionally, Canva has introduced a US$10,000 (about £7,400) grant opportunity for departing workers interested in starting a business or pursuing a community project through its Canva Collective Fund.

The company says it will not take equity or ownership in any ventures created through the initiative.