Canva Layoffs: What the 22% Restructuring Means
Canva is restructuring 22% of its workforce. Here’s what the changes mean for employees, product teams, office expectations and the company’s next phase.
Canva's 22% Restructuring: What Changes for Staff and Teams
Canva is making a big organizational shift. Co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins says 1,271 people - about 22% of the company - will be affected by changes announced this week. Perkins' message isn't only about layoffs. Some employees may switch roles, some may be asked to relocate, and others will leave. For people departing, Canva says it will offer at least six months of salary, 12 months of healthcare coverage, and career support resources.
The number is the headline, but the plan itself is what matters. Canva says it will bring Product, Growth, and Platform together under one product organization, simplify management layers, and reduce overlapping responsibilities. It also says Sydney will become the primary home for more product teams. For hybrid employees, Canva expects people to work from an office two to three days a week starting in January, depending on their area.
Below is what Canva has actually announced, what the company's stated rationale suggests about how it wants to operate, and what employees and users should pay attention to as these changes roll out. It helps to separate confirmed details from the questions that still aren't answered - because a restructuring announcement isn't proof of how the "new model" will work.
What did Canva announce?
Canva's main figure is 1,271 affected people, which it says equals 22% of its staff. Perkins said some people would experience role changes or be asked to relocate, while others would be leaving the company. The announcement doesn't break down how many people fall into each category.
That matters for how you read the number. "Affected" describes the overall scope of the changes, not a confirmed count of job losses. Canva has announced a workforce reduction and reshaping, but it hasn't said how many roles are eliminated versus moved or changed.
The organizational changes include these specific moves:
- Product, Growth, and Platform teams will be brought together into one product organization.
- Canva plans to simplify management layers and consolidate responsibilities it views as overlapping.
- Sydney will become the primary home for more product teams and some other specialist roles, which Canva says benefit from shared context and close collaboration.
- Starting in January, most hybrid employees are expected to work from an office two to three days per week, depending on their area.
For employees leaving, Canva says the support package includes at least six months of salary, 12 months of healthcare coverage, and career support resources. Those terms are concrete, but the announcement doesn't spell out every detail of eligibility, how support is administered, or whether the package changes depending on circumstances.
What "22 percent affected" does - and does not - tell us
A percentage helps with scale, but it doesn't tell you where the impact lands. Without a role-by-role or team-by-team breakdown, it's hard to say which functions are shrinking most, whether a particular part of the product is losing capacity, or how many affected employees will continue in new roles.
It's also worth not treating the phrase "refound Canva" as shorthand for a specific product strategy. Perkins used it to describe a return to smaller, empowered teams with more ownership and decision-making freedom. The announcement doesn't list any product features being cut, projects being paused, or new priorities.
At face value, the clearest reading is operational: Canva is changing how teams are organized, where some teams are based, how often hybrid staff come into the office, and how large or shaped its workforce will be. What that means for the product will depend on how the changes are carried out.
Why is Canva reorganizing its teams?
Perkins described the changes as preparation for Canva's next decade. In her message to staff, she said the company considered other options and concluded smaller adjustments wouldn't be enough. She framed the goal as a return to small, empowered teams - teams she says can make decisions, take ownership, and focus on the needs of the Canva community.
That explanation points to a common issue in bigger software companies. As responsibilities grow, coordination can become harder than the work itself. Even if Product, Growth, and Platform have distinct functions, product decisions affecting the user experience usually cut across those boundaries. When ownership is unclear or shipping requires too many approvals, adding headcount doesn't always speed things up.
Bringing those groups into a single product organization could reduce handoffs and make accountability clearer. A team owning a product outcome may be able to weigh user needs, platform constraints, and growth goals within the same planning process - especially when the work genuinely depends on tight coordination.
Still, a merged organization doesn't guarantee "simpler." If the new structure mostly changes reporting lines, teams may continue to deal with overlapping ownership, competing priorities, or slow decision-making. The real test is whether people clearly know who owns a decision - and whether they can make it without constant escalation.
The trade-off behind consolidation
Consolidation can cut duplication, but it can also concentrate decision-making. A smaller group may have more autonomy, but it also means fewer people to cover specialist work, respond to day-to-day operational issues, or maintain multiple parts of a product at once. Whether this helps usually comes down to whether the company removes work as well as roles - and whether remaining teams get clear priorities.
Making Sydney the primary base for more product teams is another attempt to strengthen shared context. Co-location can make collaboration easier, particularly for work that needs frequent discussion or rapid coordination. It also changes the practical reality for employees who aren't already near the hub. Relocation can be a major personal and financial move, so what works for some roles may not work for others.
Canva hasn't provided enough detail to evaluate how many teams will move, how relocation requests will be handled, or what exceptions might exist. Those specifics will determine whether the hub strategy improves collaboration or adds friction for people working remotely or farther away.
What do the changes mean for employees?
For employees, this comes as several changes at once: possible job loss, role changes, relocation expectations, and a clearer office schedule. Each piece affects people differently, and bundling them under one "affected" number can blur what individuals actually need to sort out.
If your role is changing, you'll need clarity on new responsibilities, reporting lines, and how success will be measured. Reorganizations can remove duplicated work - but they can also leave people unsure about who owns decisions or whether their skills still match the team's priorities. Transition plans matter as much as the org chart.
If you're being asked to relocate, the considerations are different. Canva says Sydney will be the primary home for more product teams and certain specialist roles, but the announcement doesn't say whether every affected employee must move, what help will be provided, or what happens if relocation isn't practical. Those are questions individuals should get answered directly, rather than assuming they'll be covered by the headline message.
For employees leaving, Canva's promise of six months of salary and a year of healthcare coverage sets a defined period of support. Career resources may help too, but the value depends on what's included and how it's delivered. The announcement also doesn't state whether the salary figure is a minimum in every jurisdiction or how local employment rules could change what someone receives. Employees should rely on the written terms that apply to their situation and any local guidance they're given.
Office expectations are a policy change, not just a schedule change
Starting in January, Canva expects most hybrid employees to be in an office two to three days a week, depending on their area. The phrasing leaves room for variation, but it still signals a shift toward more regular in-person work for many hybrid roles.
This won't be felt the same way everywhere. If you live close to an office, the change may mostly be about adjusting your weekly routine. If you're farther away, it could mean longer commutes, higher costs, or pressure to relocate. Teams that rely on shared time in the office may find a consistent schedule helpful, while roles that are largely independent may need a different approach to balance.
The key practical question is how the policy will be applied. Employees need to know which days are expected, who sets the schedule, how exceptions work, and how attendance will be evaluated. Without that clarity, a "flexible" policy can still end up looking inconsistent across teams. Canva says expectations depend on the area, but it didn't include a detailed company-wide implementation plan in the announcement.
Key takeaways for employees:
- Confirm whether you're being asked to change roles, relocate, or leave; those are different outcomes.
- Get your new responsibilities, reporting lines, and office expectations in writing.
- Ask how relocation decisions, exceptions, and timing will be handled for your role.
- If you're leaving, review the specific salary, healthcare, and career-support terms that apply to you.
What should Canva users and tech teams watch next?
A workforce announcement doesn't automatically tell customers whether a product will get better or worse. Canva hasn't announced specific feature cancellations, service changes, or an updated product roadmap in the details it has shared so far. In other words: users shouldn't treat this restructuring as proof of either an imminent slowdown or a sudden acceleration.
The more useful signals will come from how the company executes. Is Canva making product decisions faster? Do teams have clearer ownership? Are changes shipping with fewer handoffs while still keeping reliability and a coherent user experience? Those are the kinds of outcomes you can evaluate over time. The org chart is just the starting point.
Users should also watch for continuity in the things they rely on. When a company reorganizes, customers sometimes notice changes in support, release cadence, or communication. Those effects aren't guaranteed by the announcement, though. For business or education users, the practical approach is to stick to normal safeguards: keep access to important work, understand account and export options, and judge service changes based on what actually changes - not on speculation.
A comparison with other tech layoffs needs context
The day before Canva's announcement, Squarespace announced layoffs affecting 19% of its staff. Those numbers suggest workforce reductions aren't isolated to a single company - but they don't explain the underlying causes or tell you much about each business situation on their own. A percentage alone doesn't reveal which roles are affected, what work is being discontinued, or what financial conditions are driving the decision.
For technology leaders, Canva's plan is worth watching as a combination of a headcount cut and an operating-model change. The company isn't framing layoffs as a standalone cost move - it's tying them to team consolidation, a Sydney-centered hub approach, and higher office expectations. That means the results will depend on whether those parts reinforce each other in practice.
A smaller organization can be more focused if priorities shrink and ownership is clear. It can also get overloaded if the remaining teams are expected to cover the same scope. A merged product organization can reduce silos when authority follows responsibility. But it can also add a new coordination layer if governance expands without actually removing old handoffs. In the end, you'll see the difference in day-to-day decisions, delivery, and employee experience - not just in the wording of the plan.
What to watch over the coming months:
- Whether Canva clarifies how many employees are leaving versus switching roles or relocating.
- How ownership is assigned across Product, Growth, and Platform in the new product organization.
- Whether the Sydney hub strategy includes workable relocation terms and clear exceptions.
- How the January office expectations are applied across different teams and locations.
- Whether product delivery and the customer experience stay steady during the transition.
Conclusion
Canva's announcement combines a large workforce change with a broader push to reshape how product work is organized. The plan includes 1,271 people affected, a unified Product, Growth, and Platform product organization, a stronger Sydney hub, and two to three office days a week for most hybrid employees starting in January. For people leaving, Canva says it will provide at least six months of salary, 12 months of healthcare coverage, and career support.
Perkins says the goal is a simpler company built around smaller teams with more ownership. Whether that leads to faster decisions depends on execution: clear responsibilities, realistic priorities, and policies that fit different roles and locations. For employees, the immediate priority is getting details in writing. For Canva users and outside observers, the real measure is what changes in product delivery and service - not the restructuring language by itself.