Canva Cuts 1,271 Roles, 22% of Staff, With Six Months' Pay

Canva is cutting or reshaping 1,271 jobs, roughly 22% of its workforce, and every departing employee will walk away with at least six months of salary regardless of where they live. Co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins announced the reorganization in a staff note on Nov. 3, which Canva published in full on its newsroom, calling it "the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history."

The number needs careful reading. It covers everyone affected — people losing jobs, people getting new roles, and people asked to relocate to Sydney. Canva's own note does not say 1,271 people are being laid off, even though some posts online describe it that way. The company has staff in 37 countries and says the timing of each conversation depends on local rules.

What does the exit package actually include?

According to Canva's note, anyone leaving as part of the changes gets:

• Pay: at least six months of salary, including whatever local law already requires, in every country.
• Shares: employees who joined within the past year skip the usual one-year waiting period before their first shares vest (meaning before they legally own them).
• Health cover: 12 additional months, in countries where Canva already provides it.
• Counseling: 12 months of Canva's employee assistance program, covering family members too.
• Job-hunting help: one-on-one coaching, interview practice, a year of LinkedIn Premium, support from Canva's own recruiters, and an opt-in directory of former staff shared with Canva's investors and partners.
• Hardware: everyone keeps their Canva MacBook. "As we know not everyone has a personal laptop," Perkins wrote.
• A $10,000 grant: the new Canva Collective Fund backs departing staff starting a business or community project, with Canva taking no ownership in what they build. Registration closes Dec. 14.

Why is Canva restructuring?

Perkins wrote that 2026 has been Canva's "hardest year yet" and that growth has slowed for the first time in a decade. Her fix is to "refound" the company around smaller teams with more ownership. Concretely, Canva is merging its Product, Growth and Platform groups into a single product organization, cutting management layers, folding narrow specialist jobs into broader ones, and making Sydney the main base for more product teams.

From January, most hybrid-schedule staff must be in the office two to three days a week. Perkins pointed to how fast technology is changing what people create and expect from apps. She did not say AI is replacing the people who are leaving.

What hasn't Canva said?

Three gaps stand out. The company has not said how many people are actually losing jobs versus changing roles or relocating. It has not named which teams and countries are hit hardest. And the note announces no changes to Canva's plans or prices for users of the app itself.

Canva will hold a company-wide meeting on Nov. 10 to answer staff questions.

How does this compare with standard practice?

Much of what Canva is offering goes beyond legal requirements. In the US, no federal law requires severance pay at all; the Department of Labor treats severance as a matter of agreement between employer and employee. In most places, your outcome depends on your contract, your local law, and how much you negotiate. That makes Canva's list useful even if you have never worked there — it is a checklist of what a company can offer.

If you're facing a layoff, ask about:

• Pay: how many weeks or months, and whether it's on top of what law already requires.
• Health cover: how long it lasts and who pays. In the US, COBRA lets you keep your work plan, but you usually pay the full cost yourself.
• Equity: what you keep, and how long you have to exercise any options.
• Devices: whether you can keep your laptop and phone, and when accounts close. Save personal files and contacts first.
• Outplacement: coaching, references, and whether the company will introduce you to other employers.
• The deadline: how long you have to review any agreement. Read it before signing, and get advice if anything is unclear.

Weighing a voluntary buyout instead? The same questions apply.

We'll update this story if Canva shares how many people are actually leaving after the Nov. 10 meeting.