Canva published CEO Melanie Perkins's internal note on November 3, 2026 under the title "An important update on our team." Perkins wrote that 1,271 people, or 22% of Canva, will be impacted. For some, that means role changes or relocation to centralized hubs; for others, it means leaving the company.
"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. She called the moment "without doubt the hardest" in Canva's thirteen-year history and said small changes would not be enough.
Key Facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date of memo / newsroom post | November 3, 2026 (Canva Newsroom) |
| People affected | 1,271; about 22% of Canva (Perkins memo) |
| Impact types | Role changes, relocation to hubs, and departures (memo) |
| Org change | Product, Growth, and Platform merged into one Product Org |
| Work model | Most hybrid staff expected ~2–3 office days/week from January |
| Hub focus | Sydney becomes primary home for more product teams |
| Severance floor | At least six months' salary, inclusive of statutory entitlements |
| Other support | Vesting cliff removed for recent joiners; 12 months healthcare where provided; Canva Care EAP; career coaching; keep MacBook; US$10,000 Canva Collective Fund grants (opt-in by Dec 14) |
| Footprint | Teams in 37 countries (memo) |
| All-hands | Company All Hands Nov 10; Org All Hands from Nov 11 |
Background
Canva's memo frames the reorganization as returning to "small, empowered teams" after growth made product work span Product, Growth, and Platform with more handovers. The company is also reducing subspecialization and collapsing management layers.
Business Insider and TechCrunch report that in August Canva cut its 2026 revenue growth forecast from 30% to 20%. TechCrunch links that cut to rising AI costs and lower reliance on third-party models; Business Insider and the BBC note intensifying competition from generative image tools such as those from OpenAI and Google. The BBC also reports investor markdowns of Canva's valuation over AI cost and competitive concerns; reported dollar figures differ across outlets, so we treat valuation as contested reporting rather than a single official number.
The official memo does not quantify how many of the 1,271 are layoffs versus redeployments or moves, and it does not state that AI products are being delayed.
What We Don't Know Yet
- Exact split among layoffs, role changes, and relocations inside the 1,271 figure.
- Which product lines or geographies lose the most headcount.
- Whether the August growth-forecast cut is restated in any new public financial disclosure tied to this memo.
- A single, company-confirmed current valuation after conflicting secondary reports.