The Canva layoffs landed in November 2026 and affected more than one in five employees. CEO Melanie Perkins confirmed that 1,271 people are impacted, the first mass layoff in the company’s history.
Most layoff news follows a script: an abrupt email, a locked laptop, a vague statement. This one broke it. The severance terms drew praise in the comments on Perkins’s LinkedIn post. Below is what happened, why Canva says it happened, and what you can borrow if you ever face a call like this.
What happened in the Canva layoffs?
Canva announced layoffs of 1,271 employees, about 22% of its workforce, in November 2026. CEO Melanie Perkins said the company is restructuring after growth slowed for the first time in a decade. It’s the first mass layoff in Canva’s history, and affected staff receive six months of salary.
The cuts come with a reorganisation. Canva is merging its product, growth and platform teams to cut down on handoffs between them. It’s also reducing “subspecialisation,” so people will cover broader responsibilities than before. And the company is moving to hybrid work, with staff in the office a few days a week.
Why did Canva lay off employees?
Perkins pointed to slowing growth. According to TechCrunch, she told staff this has been Canva’s hardest year yet.
The numbers behind that are rough. Canva cut its revenue growth forecast from 30% to 20% because AI costs ballooned, and early investors marked its valuation down to about $35 billion earlier this year. On top of that, AI startups and general chatbots can now produce posters and presentations, which is Canva’s home turf.
So did AI replace these jobs? Nothing in the reporting says so. AI shows up in this story as a cost and as a competitor, and that’s a different problem.
Our read: a company that grew fast for a decade hit a ceiling and is reorganising before it goes further. The structure changes tell you more about the plan than the headcount does.
What does Canva’s severance package include?
Fast Company reported the details from the letter Perkins shared. Here’s the package at a glance.
| Benefit | What Canva offers |
| Pay | Six months of salary, regardless of location |
| Equity | One-year vesting cliff removed for anyone who joined in the last year |
| Health | Healthcare continues (the reports don’t say for how long) |
| Career help | Resume support, coaching, interview prep and one year of LinkedIn Premium |
| Start-up fund | $10,000 grants for people starting a business or community project |
| Equipment | Laid-off employees keep their MacBooks |
| Network | An opt-in alumni directory, plus Perkins asking leaders with openings to email her |
Severance rules differ a lot from country to country, so a flat six months everywhere is a choice. It’s also an expensive one.
What can HR leaders learn from the Canva layoffs?
Say the number: Perkins named it: 1,271 people, 22%. Vague phrases like “a small group of roles” make everyone assume the worst, and the people who stay do the assuming loudest.
Treat locations the same: A designer in Sydney and a designer in Manchester got the same six months. If you can’t match that, at least be able to explain the difference without hiding behind legal language.
Fix what punishes new hires: Dropping the vesting cliff for anyone who joined in the past year is the part I’d copy first. Recent hires usually get the worst deal in a layoff. Canva closed that gap.
Help people land: Keeping a laptop costs a company very little and tells the person a lot. The alumni directory and the CEO’s open offer to connect people with leaders do more than any outplacement PDF.
Not every company can afford six months. Most can’t. But a 50-person company can still be exact about numbers, quick about timing, and decent about equipment and references.
There’s a second thing to plan for. If AI is changing roles where you work, reskilling and restructuring will end up in the same meeting. We’ve written about why employee training is becoming HR’s top priority as AI raises role complexity.
How do layoffs affect employer branding?
People you let go become your reviewers. They post about it, they talk to recruiters, and they get asked “what was it like there?” in their next interview. The Canva severance story got picked up by outlets like Fast Company and Newsweek within a day. No ad budget buys that kind of reach, and the same reach would have worked against Canva if the package had been stingy.
At Amazing Workplaces®, we’ve surveyed over 60,000 employees, and our 3E model (Evaluate, Enrich, Endorse) starts with measuring how people actually feel before a crisis forces the question. If you want a baseline on your own people practices, our workplace survey and certification is the place to start.
Canva layoffs: quick answers
How many people did Canva lay off?
Canva laid off 1,271 people, about 22% of its workforce, in November 2026.
Why did Canva lay off staff?
Perkins cited slowing growth, the first slowdown in a decade. Reporting also points to higher AI costs, a lower revenue growth forecast and more competition from AI tools.
What severance are laid-off Canva employees getting?
Six months of salary regardless of location, healthcare, career support, a $10,000 grant fund for new ventures, and the right to keep their MacBooks. Staff who joined within the last year also get their vesting cliff removed.
Did AI replace the laid-off Canva employees?
Canva hasn’t said so. Based on reporting so far, the stated reason is slowing growth and a reorganisation, with AI appearing as a cost and a competitive pressure.
