Canva to Cut or Relocate More Than 1,200 Jobs
The design platform says its restructure touches 1,271 people, or 22% of its workforce. Leavers get at least six months of salary.
Canva is cutting or relocating more than 1,200 jobs, about 22% of its global workforce. The Australian-founded design platform says the restructure will affect 1,271 people.
Support for those who go
People who leave get at least six months of salary. In countries where healthcare is a workplace benefit, cover continues for another 12 months. They also keep their laptops.
Leavers can apply for US$10,000 (A$14,000) grants to start their own ventures. For those asked to relocate, chief executive Melanie Perkins promised comprehensive support to make the process as smooth as possible.
How the company explains it
Canva says the restructure focuses on "collapsing layers" and bringing more teams together in person. For some staff that means altered roles or a request to move to centralised hubs. For others it means leaving.
Perkins told employees in an email that it was "without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history". She did not specify the exact number of job losses.
A sector under pressure
The changes mirror a trend in technology. Software companies are trying to stay competitive against cheaper artificial intelligence rivals, while also building AI tools into their own products. Atlassian made 1,600 people redundant, and Block, which owns Afterpay, and WiseTech Global have also cut jobs.
Established software firms have rejected the idea that AI will become so advanced that specialised software is redundant. Many have still overhauled their business models or adopted AI tools aggressively.
Canva stands apart on one point. Unlike Atlassian, Block and WiseTech, it did not mention AI in its announcement.
The company is among Australia's most successful startups, and talk of a large Nasdaq listing has followed it for a long time.
Our View
Canva has given organisational reasons: fewer layers and more time together in person. AI pressure on the sector is background, not a stated cause, and the company has not tied the two. How many of the 1,271 people leave rather than move is not public, and a later disclosure would show how deep the cuts go.
Source: the Guardian