Canva

Financial Context

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

• 4 November 2026Canva told staff a restructure would affect 1,270 jobs, 22 per cent of its global workforce, through job cuts, changed roles or relocation. Melanie Perkins called it the “hardest moment in our 13-year history” and said growth had slowed “for the first time in a decade”. Canva said new technology was changing how people create and use products, and did not explicitly mention AI. Sydney will become the primary home for Canva’s product teams and some staff may be asked to relocate there, so the consolidation runs toward Australia rather than away from it. From January most hybrid staff are expected in an office two to three days a week. Those leaving get at least six months’ salary and can apply for US$10,000 grants from a new fund. Canva did not say how many of the affected roles are in Australia. [ABC News]
• 4 November 2026Perkins’ note to staff put the figure at 1,271 people and did not say how many of them would actually lose their jobs, as opposed to changing roles or being asked to move. Product, Growth and Platform are being merged into a single product organisation. The note said “New technology is transforming what people can create, how they create it, and what they expect from the products they use”, and did not cite financial pressure as a reason. [The Register]
• 5 November 2026Canva has more than 1,000 staff in the Philippines, on a campus in Makati City, and the local team was not told how many Filipino employees were affected. The memo does not name Manila or say which locations carry the heaviest impact, only that conversations would follow local requirements and so the timing would vary by country. The site is Canva’s oldest outside Australia, opened in 2014 with seven people. [Gadget Pilipinas]
• August 2026Canva cut its 2026 revenue growth forecast from 30% to 20% and slowed the rollout of its AI features, after the cost of serving them ran well above plan. Melanie Perkins said demand for the AI tools was far higher than expected and that the cost per AI task had fallen by almost 90% since Canva AI 2.0 launched in April. The company framed it as rebuilding its underlying architecture rather than a demand problem. [Fortune]
• April 2025Canva cut 10 of its 12 technical writers, its first known redundancy round. Staff had been told AI use would not cost jobs, and had followed the direction to use “any and every” generative AI tool in their work. Canva said the change was about “evolving our technical content writing function to better align with how our engineering teams create and maintain documentation”, and it was never presented as a cost-saving measure. Those affected received at least six months' pay and career support. The cuts landed alongside the launch of Visual Suite 2.0. [ChannelNews]
• 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 directed employees to use AI tools wherever possible to lift productivity, and staff were told that using AI would not cost jobs. [ChannelNews]
• 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.