Canva Layoffs 2026: What the Restructuring Means for Staff
The Canva layoffs 2026 announcement outlines a global restructuring that affects 1,271 employees, or 22% of the design platform’s workforce. Some employees will leave the company, while others will change roles or face a possible move to a central hub. Canva’s public announcement gives a combined figure for all three outcomes. It does not specify how many jobs the company will cut.
Co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins said Canva’s growth had slowed for the first time in a decade. The company plans to combine three teams, simplify management layers and bring more product staff together in Sydney. Meanwhile, employees leaving Canva will receive at least six months of salary, along with other support. Read the company’s full announcement.
Canva Layoffs 2026: Who the Changes Affect
The restructuring will have different consequences for employees across the business. Some will need to prepare for a job search, while others will have to decide whether a new role or location works for them. For employees considering relocation, the change could affect where their families live and how they manage work and care. Canva has committed to providing relocation support.
The company said it would invite affected employees to individual meetings with senior leaders in their areas. Those conversations give staff a chance to discuss their next steps and ask about the support available. Canva has teams across 37 countries, so the timing and format of these meetings can vary with local requirements. That makes the individual conversation important for understanding how the announcement applies to each person.
The workforce changes also reflect a shift in the kinds of roles Canva wants to maintain. Management plans to combine some narrow specialties into broader jobs and give teams more ownership over their work. For staff who take on those roles, the change could mean a wider range of duties and more responsibility for decisions. For managers, it means defining where that responsibility begins and ends as teams come together.
Canva Layoffs 2026: Severance Pay and Support
First, Canva said employees leaving under the plan will receive at least six months of salary, including any payments required by law. That minimum applies regardless of location. The company will also continue healthcare coverage for 12 months in countries where it already provides that benefit. Its employee assistance programme will remain available for a year and will extend to family members.
Next, Canva is changing how it handles equity for employees who joined within the past year. The company will remove the usual one-year waiting period before those workers can start earning their equity. This matters most for recent hires whose employment ends before their first anniversary. Canva will also let departing employees keep their work MacBooks, so they have a device for applications, interviews or independent work.
The career package includes individual coaching, interview preparation and a year of LinkedIn Premium. Canva’s recruitment team will help with CV reviews and interview practice. Departing staff can also choose to join an alumni directory, which Canva plans to share with partners, investors and other industry contacts. These measures give employees several ways to look for work, whether they want help with an application or an introduction to a potential employer. Read more about the severance package.
Finally, the Canva Collective Fund offers US$10,000 grants to departing employees who want to start a business or a community project. Employees leaving as part of the restructure have until 14 December 2026 to register their interest. Canva says it will take no ownership stake in the ventures. The grant gives staff who want to work for themselves or develop a local project a separate option alongside the job search support.
Canva Layoffs 2026: Why Sydney Will Play a Bigger Role
Canva plans to bring its Product, Growth and Platform teams into one product organisation. Perkins said work often passed between those groups, adding coordination and making ownership harder to pin down. Under the new structure, Canva wants smaller teams to make more of their own decisions and manage projects through to completion. The company also plans to reduce overlapping duties and simplify reporting layers.
Sydney will become the main base for more product teams and selected roles that rely on close collaboration. From January 2027, Canva expects most hybrid employees to work in an office around two to three days each week, depending on their team. The company also says it will continue investing in its global workforce, especially where local teams work closely with customers and markets. The location changes therefore matter both to employees asked to consider a move and to colleagues who will coordinate with the Sydney teams.
Canva Layoffs 2026: What Comes Next for the Platform
For customers, one question is whether the combined product organisation can make Canva’s tools work together more smoothly. A feature can touch several parts of the platform, from the design editor to shared team tools. Giving one group ownership of a project could reduce handovers when a change spans those areas. The results will depend on how well the new teams share expertise and manage work during the transition.
Canva has already expanded beyond its original design editor into documents, spreadsheets and AI-assisted tools. That broader product range gives the reorganised teams several areas to coordinate. For employees, the immediate changes centre on roles, locations and support. Over time, product releases will give customers a way to see how the new structure shapes the tools they use. Explore Canva’s recent product expansion. Read our related coverage of workplace AI tools.
Nuwan Wackwella is a digital creator passionate about technology, creativity, and sharing inspiring moments from everyday life.
