Canva, one of Australia's best-known start-ups, has announced a restructuring that affects 22% of its workforce. Co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins told staff on Wednesday that 1,271 people would lose their jobs, be asked to relocate or change roles, the BBC reported. She called it "without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history".
Perkins said some staff would be asked to move to centralised hubs. Sydney will become the "primary home" for more of the company's product teams. From next year, hybrid workers will be expected in the office two to three days a week. Canva has staff in 37 countries.
In her note, Perkins said it had been the company's "hardest year yet". She added that Canva's growth had slowed for the first time in a decade. She also said that new technology was changing what people create, how they create it and what they expect from the products they use.
The BBC reported that Canva's value has dropped over the past year. Investors have worried about how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect its business. The cost of building AI into its platforms has also weighed on the company.
Earlier this year, two backers, Blackbird Ventures and Airtree, reportedly cut their valuation of Canva to about A$49 billion. At the end of last year, they had valued it at A$60 billion ($41.8 billion). Canva also reportedly lowered its own internal valuation as AI costs rose with the launch of new products.
Perkins launched Canva in 2013. She left university at 19 to start her first venture. The platform offers templates and tools that let people without design skills make graphics and presentations, from wedding invitations to business pitch decks.