Canva
Online design platform used by 190+ million people. Founded in Sydney.
Reported Offshore Headcount
1,000+
reported 1 Jan 2024, Canva + Atlassian deny AI driving cuts. Atlassian cut 350 customer ser...
Estimated % of Workforce
~20%
illustrative, not directly reported by the company
Destination Countries
Financial Context
Estimated Wage Differential
~$85M/yr
Estimate uses avg AU employment cost of $110,000+/yr (incl. super and on-costs) vs offshore $25,000/yr (salary + on-costs). Actual figures vary by role, seniority, and location.
In Plain English
- In 2024, Canva was reported to have 1,000+ offshore contractors and staff.
- This represents ~20% when compared to its current workforce of 5,000 (illustrative comparison only, not directly reported by the company).
- 🇵🇭 1,000+ staff reported in Philippines.
- 10 Australian jobs have been cut.
Based on data from public sources at the dates reported. Figures may not reflect current headcount. See sources below for full attribution.
The Story
- September 2025Canva denied AI was driving further departures after dozens of staff left across sales, finance, security, and IT. The company uses a five-tier performance ranking system to manage out underperformers every six months. [Australian Financial Review]
- April 2025Canva cut 10 of 12 technical writers, the company's first ever redundancy round. Staff had been assured AI wouldn't cost jobs. They diligently followed the directive to use 'any and every' AI tool, then were replaced by it. Canva was recently valued at US$32 billion. [Australian Financial Review]
- 2024Canva's Manila office grew to over 1,000 staff, now occupying all 7 floors of the Makati building. Customer Happiness is the biggest Manila team, plus Design, Sales, People, and Operations. [Vogue Philippines]
- Mid-2024Canva's co-founders held an all-hands meeting directing all employees to start using AI tools 'wherever possible' to increase productivity. [Australian Financial Review]
- October 2023AFR revealed Canva was informally advising other Australian startups (including SafetyCulture, Eucalyptus, and Linktree) how to hire staff in Manila. Canva had 850+ people in Philippines across design, marketing, customer service, HR, and finance. Start-ups can hire remote staff in Manila for 50-70% less than Australia. [Australian Financial Review]
- 2014Canva opened its Manila office with 7 people. The Philippines became the company's largest team outside Australia. [Canva Careers]
All facts sourced from public reporting. No editorial commentary. Click source links to verify.
Department Breakdown
| Department | Country | Headcount | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecified | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 1,000 | Estimated |
Layoff Events
| Date | Headcount | Location | Department | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Apr 2025 | 10 | Australia | other | First ever Canva redundancy. 10 of 12 technical writers cut after being told to embrace AI. Staff assured AI wouldn't cost jobs, then it did. |
Other Technology Companies That Offshore
Other companies in technology with reported offshore operations.
| Company | ASX | Reported Offshore | Offshore Destinations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlassian | 1,700+ | 🇮🇳 India | |
| REA Group | REA | 1,187+ | 🇨🇳 China🇵🇭 Philippines🇮🇳 India |
| WiseTech Global | WTC | 428+ | 🇮🇳 India |
| Computershare | CPU | 350+ | 🇵🇭 Philippines🇮🇳 India |
| Employment Hero | 220+ | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
Featured In
What Public Sources Say
All information below is sourced from publicly available documents and reporting. Excerpts are direct quotes. Click source links to verify.
Additional Sources
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This list is not complete, and never will be
If a company isn't listed here, that doesn't mean it doesn't offshore. And every number is the lowest we can prove, so the real figures can often be higher.
Read whyShow less
This list is not complete, and never will be
If a company isn't listed here, that doesn't mean it doesn't offshore. And every number is the lowest we can prove, so the real figures can often be higher.
This started as an ASX 200 project and mostly still is. It has widened as stories landed from outside that list, so it now also covers employers that aren't ASX-listed, like Canva, Allianz Australia, SS&C and Crown Resorts, along with government departments and agencies. Companies get added when something surfaces about them, not by working through a list in order.
Australian companies are under no obligation to disclose where their work is done, and there is no register of offshored jobs. Everything here comes from something that surfaced publicly: an annual report, a modern slavery statement, a news article, a union statement, a government contract, or a tip from someone who was there.
So an absence usually means nobody has reported on that company and we haven't got to it yet, not that it keeps its work onshore. Some of the biggest offshorers say nothing at all. And because each figure counts only what a source actually stated, the real numbers can often run higher, sometimes much higher.
Every figure links to the source it came from, so you can judge it yourself rather than take our word for it. If you know something that is missing or wrong, tell us. Corrections are published, not quietly buried.
This profile reflects public information at the time of publication and may not match current operations. Is something wrong or missing about Canva? Submit a correction. We welcome input from companies, employees, and researchers.