Canva announces restructure as 22 per cent of workforce impacted

Australian design software giant Canva will undergo a huge restructure which will impact 1271 jobs, or 22 per cent of its workforce, for the first time in its 13-year history as it tries to return to its roots as a small tech start-up.

This means a number of jobs will be cut, roles will be changes and staff based globally may be asked to relocate.

In a statement on Wednesday, co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins said it was an “incredibly hard decision” but one that was needed to set up the company for the next chapter.

“Behind every decision is someone we care deeply about, and I know the consequences will be very real for those directly affected, their families, friends and teammates,” she said.

“I’m deeply sorry for the pain and disruption this will cause for everyone affected.”

Impacted staff will receive at least six months of salary, 12 months of continued healthcare coverage, career support that includes one year of LinkedIn Premium and the ability to keep their laptops.

The company will also launch a fund to provide $US10,000 ($14,500) grants to departing team members who want to start a business or initiative for their local community on their own.

Read more

Big four banks silent after RBA lifts interest rates again

Canva was started in Sydney in 2013 and grew to have 5500 employees across 37 countries and 220 million active users per month on Wednesday.

It was considered a shining example of local start-ups as it expanded to a global heavyweight.

As of August, the company was internally valued at $43.9 billion, down from more than $10 billion a year before.

It comes as Canva went live with its highly anticipated AI product Canva Create in April – what it described as its biggest product launch to date.

But the firm was forced to quickly slow down the rollout due to skyrocketing costs associated with the technology.

“To serve 200-plus million users, a very generous free AI product comes with a huge cost and so we needed to get that cost down,” co-founder Cliff Obrecht said in August.

“We’ve managed to do that by about 90 per cent, which means we can really scale it up now.”