Design software giant Canva will cut more than a thousand roles in a bid to get back to its small start-up roots, as the pressures of artificial intelligence continue to reshape the workforce.
In a letter to staff on Wednesday, Canva co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins said 1,271 people will be impacted, or 22 per cent of its workforce, with some staff to lose their roles and others asked to relocate to centralised hubs.
It comes after the billion-dollar company said its growth had slowed for the first time in a decade.
‘This is without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history,’ Ms Perkins wrote.
‘After exploring a wide range of alternatives, I’ve come to the difficult conclusion that small changes won’t be enough.
‘To set ourselves up for the next decade, we need to refound Canva, getting back to our roots of small, empowered teams with the freedom to make decisions, take ownership, and focus on what matters most for our community.’
It’s understood Canva will merge its product, growth and platform teams into a single product organisation and cut management layers in its first-ever redundancy round.
Departing staff will receive at least six months’ salary, 12 months of healthcare where Canva provides it, and can keep their work MacBooks. They can also apply for $14,500 grants to start their own ventures.
Design giant Canva will cut more than a thousand roles, or 22 per cent of its workforce
Hybrid staff will be expected in the office two to three days a week from January
Canva co-founders Cliff Obrecht, Melanie Perkins and Cameron Adams are worth more than $20billion combined
Sydney will become the primary base for product teams and hybrid staff will be expected in the office two to three days a week, from January.
Canva is one of Australia’s most successful start-ups, with its co-founders Ms Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams worth more than $20billion combined.
The company is currently based in Surry Hills however is in the middle of building a new $120million office near Sydney’s Central Station.
