Aussie Adobe assailant Canva announces layoffs in re-org affecting 22% of staff

Australian design software maker Canva is restructuring, with 1,271 employees, or 22 percent of its workforce, facing layoffs, changes to their roles, or requests to relocate.

The company, which has become a challenger to Adobe, announced the news by sharing a message that CEO Melanie Perkins sent to staff on Wednesday.

That missive, titled “An important update on our team,” doesn’t mention AI but does state “New technology is transforming what people can create, how they create it, and what they expect from the products they use.”

Perkins observed that Canva’s rate of growth recently slowed for the first time in a decade and shared her view that continued success won’t happen without change.

“After exploring a wide range of alternatives, I've come to the difficult conclusion that small changes won’t be enough,” she wrote. “To set ourselves up for the next decade, we need to refound Canva, getting back to our roots of small, empowered teams with the freedom …