SYDNEY – Canva Inc announced job cuts and a structural overhaul that will impact more than one-fifth of the workforce, after the Sydney-based tech firm’s growth slowed for the first time in a decade.
Some 1,271 people, or 22% of Canva’s staff, will lose their jobs, change roles or relocate to central hubs, chief executive officer Melanie Perkins said in a note to employees that was posted on the firm’s website.
The sweeping changes at Canva, an online design and publishing platform, mirror a broader upheaval across the software industry.
Artificial intelligence is allowing people to do more on their own without specialty programmes, while companies are using AI to operate with fewer workers.
Perkins, who co-founded Canva with Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams, didn’t specify how many of those staff would lose their jobs.
She said Canva needs to become a simpler business and return to running small, empowered teams. There will be fewer niche specialisations, she said.
“New technology is transforming what people can create, how they create it, and what they expect from the products they use,” Perkins said. “I’ve come to the difficult conclusion that small changes won’t be enough.”
She described the reorganisation as “the hardest moment in our 13-year history.”
Sydney will become the main base for more of Canva’s product teams.
Perkins said more people will work face-to-face, and most hybrid staff will spend two to three days in the office a week from January. BLOOMBERG
