Canva cuts 22% of staff and never says 'AI', but the restructure points straight at it

Canva is restructuring 1,271 jobs, 22% of its global workforce, or more than one in five employees. CEO and co-founder Melanie Perkins announced it in a company-wide note and called it the hardest moment in Canva's 13-year history. The figure covers three groups: people losing their jobs, people whose roles are changing, and people who must relocate. Canva has not said how many will be let go outright.

Perkins gave two reasons. First, growth has slowed for the first time in a decade. Second, 'new technology' is changing how people create and use products. The note never mentions artificial intelligence. However, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the restructure is meant to position Canva to build AI-related products. Perkins says she wants to 're-found' the company around small, empowered teams. Sydney will become the main base for more product teams. From January, most hybrid staff will be expected in the office two to three days a week.

The pressure is clear. AI tools can now produce images, layouts and slides from a short text prompt, which is exactly Canva's territory. Canva has leaned into AI itself: SmartCompany reported in August that it had become the world's second most-visited AI platform, ahead of Claude, Grok and Gemini. SmartCompany also reported that Canva had lost another $11 billion in valuation, following earlier drops. In 2025, Canva laid off 10 to 12 technical writers, a cut that reports linked to a push for staff to use generative AI. Atlassian cut 1,600 jobs in March 2026 and said outright that AI would let it reduce headcount. One tracker counted 783 tech companies announcing layoffs in 2025, affecting 245,953 people.

The exit package stands out for its generosity. It includes at least six months' salary, a year of healthcare and US$10,000 grants for departing staff who want to start a business or run a community project. Canva is also removing the one-year equity 'vesting cliff', the waiting period before employees receive any shares, for some recent hires. That doesn't make the cuts painless. It does set a better standard than the minimum many tech firms offer.

Our reading: this is a clear case of what we call 'AI as destination, not cause'. Software did not replace 1,271 people at Canva. A company with slowing growth and a falling valuation is moving money and structure toward AI before AI-native rivals take its core market. Not naming AI is a choice in messaging. It avoids the backlash Atlassian faced, but it also hides what is really driving the change. In the short term, design and back-office roles at mature platforms will keep being cut and reshaped, and those costs are real. In the long term, making design nearly free to produce is the kind of abundance we expect AI to bring. The value shifts to taste, judgment and knowing what users need. If Canva's small 're-founded' teams are built around those skills, the bet makes sense. If they are just a smaller headcount with a new slogan, the next restructure won't be far behind.