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Canva is restructuring its operations in a move affecting 1,271 employees, or 22% of its workforce, as the design software company responds to slowing growth and changes in the technology industry.
The overhaul includes layoffs, changes to employee responsibilities, relocation requests and a push for greater in-person collaboration. Canva did not specify how many employees would lose their jobs.
Canva co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins announced the changes in a message to employees Tuesday, describing the restructuring as the company’s most difficult moment in its 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.
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The restructuring comes as Canva adapts to new technology that is changing how people create content and what they expect from software products. The company said it needs to reorganize around smaller teams with greater autonomy as it prepares for its next phase.
Under the new structure, Canva will combine its product, growth and platform teams into a single product organization. The company also plans to reduce management layers, consolidate overlapping responsibilities and incorporate narrower specialized roles into broader positions.
The changes will also affect where and how employees work. Sydney will become the primary home for more of Canva’s product teams and certain other departments.
Beginning in January, most hybrid employees are expected to work from the office two to three days per week, depending on their location.
Perkins said Canva’s platform is used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. The company has teams across 37 countries.
For employees leaving the company, Canva said it will provide severance packages that include at least six months of salary, inclusive of legally required entitlements, regardless of location. The company will also provide 12 months of continued health care coverage in countries where it currently offers that benefit.
Additional support will include removing a one-year vesting cliff for employees who joined within the past year, along with career coaching, interview preparation and other job-search assistance.
Canva will also offer $10,000 grants to departing employees who want to start a business or pursue a community project through a new Canva Collective Fund. The company said it will not seek ownership or equity in those projects.
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Canva is expected to provide more details about the restructuring and its future plans during a company-wide meeting scheduled for Nov. 10.
