Canva announces major job cuts after ‘our hardest year yet’

Canva, one of Australia’s best known start-ups, has announced a shake up of the business that will affect 22% of its workers, including job cuts.

In what was “without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history” co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins said 1,271 people would either lose their jobs, be asked to relocate or change roles.

The firm’s value has reportedly dropped in the past year over concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on its business as well as the cost of incorporating the technology into its platforms.

It had 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 to staff.

The “incredibly hard decision” meant “significant changes,” Perkins said.

“For some people, this will mean changes to their roles or being asked to relocate to centralised hubs. Sadly, it will also mean saying goodbye to teammates and friends who have helped build Canva into what it is today.”

The company, which has staff in 37 countries, said Sydney would become the “primary home” for more of its product teams and that as of next year hybrid workers would be expected to spend two to three days in the office.

Earlier this year two of its backers, Blackbird Ventures and Airtree, reportedly downgraded its valuation from A$60bn ($41.8bn; £31.1bn) at the end of last year to about A$49bn.

Canva also reportedly cut its own internal valuation amid soaring AI expenses related to the roll out of new products.

“New technology is transforming what people can create, how they create it, and what they expect from the products they use,” Perkins said in her note on Wednesday.

Perkins, who left university at 19 to found her first venture, launched Canva in 2013.

The company offers a variety of templates and tools to help users without technical skills or a design background to create a range of professional-looking graphics and presentations, from wedding invitations to business pitch decks.