Canva Layoffs and Redundancies: What Is Known?

Coverage date: Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Canva's public announcement and Australian reporting are dated that day; the company note does not give an exact announcement time. The key distinction is that 1,271 people are affected by the restructure, but Canva has not said how many will leave the company. The figure includes people whose roles may change or who may be asked to relocate, as well as employees who will depart.

What did Canva announce?

Canva co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins told staff that the company is making major changes to its organization, team locations, and the roles and skills it needs. In a note also published on Canva's newsroom, she said 1,271 people, or 22% of Canva, would be affected. The company described a mix of role changes, relocation requests, and departures. Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported that the number of people who will lose their jobs outright had not been disclosed.

For that reason, headlines saying “1,271 layoffs” overstate what is confirmed. The figure describes the total number of people affected, not a published count of redundancies. In Australia, “redundancy” generally means an employer no longer needs a particular job to be done by anyone. A reorganisation can include redundancies, but a changed job or a relocation request is not automatically the same thing as a confirmed job loss.

What changes are planned?

Canva says it wants to simplify how teams work and reduce handoffs between groups. The announced changes include:

• Combining Product, Growth, and Platform into one Product organization.
• Reducing management layers and merging narrower specialties into broader roles.
• Making Sydney the primary home for more product teams and some other roles that the company says benefit from close collaboration. Some employees may be asked to relocate to centralized hubs.
• Expecting most hybrid employees (people who split their work between home and an office) to work in an office around two to three days per week beginning in January, depending on their area.

The company has not published a public list of affected teams, roles, countries, or individual selection criteria. It says local processes and timing may differ across its 37 countries. Its note says impacted employees will be invited to individual conversations with a senior leader, with team leads expected to share more about changes by the end of the week. Canva also scheduled a company-wide meeting for November 10 and organization-level meetings beginning November 11; no meeting times were included in the public note.

Why is Canva restructuring?

Canva's stated explanation is organizational: it wants smaller, more empowered teams, clearer ownership, fewer overlapping responsibilities, and closer collaboration. Perkins also said the company's growth had slowed for the first time in a decade and described the year as its hardest yet.

The announcement refers broadly to new technology changing what people create and expect from products, but it does not name artificial intelligence as the direct cause of the job changes. AAP reported outside commentary about AI competition and software-sector pressures. That context is not the same as a reason Canva expressly gave for each affected role. Until the company provides more detail, claims that AI alone caused the announced restructure should be treated as analysis rather than a confirmed explanation.

What support has Canva announced for people leaving?

Canva's public note describes support for departing employees. It says everyone leaving will receive at least six months of salary, inclusive of statutory entitlements (minimum workplace rights set by law), regardless of location. The company also says it will provide the following:

• Removal of the one-year equity vesting cliff for employees who joined within the past year; the cliff is the initial period before a stock award begins to vest.
• Twelve months of continued healthcare coverage in countries where Canva currently provides it.
• Twelve months of Canva Care, its employee assistance program, including coverage for family members.
• Career support such as individual coaching, interview preparation, and one year of LinkedIn Premium.
• The option for departing employees to keep their Canva MacBook.
• Access to the Canva Collective Fund, which offers US$10,000 grants to departing employees who want to start a business or support a community project. Canva says employees can register interest through December 14 and that it will not take ownership or equity in what they create.

These are company-stated terms, not a substitute for an individual written notice or a calculation of Australian workplace entitlements. The statement says local timing and processes vary, and the healthcare benefit applies only in countries where Canva provides that coverage.

What should Australia-based employees check first?

If you work at Canva and may be affected, start with the individual communication from the company rather than assuming your situation from the headline. Ask for written details about whether your role is ending, changing, or being relocated; the effective dates; any redeployment option; and a clear breakdown of salary, notice, leave, equity, and other payments. If you are asked to move, ask what location is proposed, what support is available, and how a decision about relocation affects your role.

For Australia, the Fair Work Ombudsman explains redundancy and consultation. Its guidance says a genuine redundancy involves a job no longer being needed and the employer following relevant consultation requirements. Redundancy pay eligibility and amounts can depend on factors such as continuous service, workplace coverage, employer size, and any applicable award or enterprise agreement. The Ombudsman also notes that an employee may be entitled to redundancy pay if it is reasonable to refuse a relocation. Individual circumstances matter, so use the official guidance or seek qualified workplace advice if the written offer is unclear.

What is still unknown?

• How many of the 1,271 affected people will actually leave Canva, compared with those changing roles or being asked to relocate.
• Which teams, job levels, and countries will be most affected, and how the company will select individual roles.
• The detailed schedule and local terms for each employee, beyond the support outlined in Canva's general note.
• Whether artificial intelligence directly influenced specific job decisions; the public announcement does not say that it did.

The most reliable way to track the story is to separate the company's confirmed figure and announced organizational changes from unconfirmed breakdowns or explanations. Canva's team update is the primary source for what the company says. Reuters and AAP provide independent reporting, including the important caveat that the 1,271 figure is not a confirmed redundancy count.