Canva is cutting 1,271 jobs, or 22% of its workforce, as growth slows at the design software company. CEO and co-founder Melanie Perkins told employees that the business needs to adapt after its growth stalled for the first time in a decade.
In her note, Perkins described the period as Canva’s “hardest year yet” and said the company’s success so far does not ensure success in its next phase. She credited employees with helping build the platform, which she said is used by hundreds of millions of people.
Canva is reorganizing its structure by combining its product, growth and platform teams, with the aim of reducing communication barriers. It also plans to reduce employee specialization, potentially broadening people’s responsibilities, and move toward hybrid work that includes several days in the office each week.
The company has been developing its own AI models to lower costs and reduce reliance on external models. However, it has lowered its revenue growth forecast to 20%, from 30%, citing rising AI expenses. Earlier this year, some of Canva’s early investors cut its valuation to about $35 billion.
Canva also faces competition from AI startups and general-purpose chatbots, including ChatGPT and Gemini, whose image-generation tools can help users create posters and presentations.
Sources: TechCrunch.