Canva slashes 1,200 jobs as growth engines stall

The scale of the layoffs reflects a broader reorganization aimed at curbing internal friction. By merging product, growth, and platform teams, leadership hopes to strip away the complexity that accumulated during years of rapid hiring. Staff members now face a shift toward a hybrid model and a mandate to consolidate roles, effectively ending the era of hyper-specialization within the company.

Financial pressures remain the primary driver of this austerity. Canva recently lowered its revenue growth forecast from 30% to 20%, a move necessitated by the heavy capital requirements of developing proprietary AI models. These fiscal adjustments have already rippled through the market, with early investors marking the company's valuation down to roughly $35 billion. As general-purpose chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini erode Canva’s traditional stronghold in poster and presentation design, the company is betting that a leaner, more integrated structure will keep it relevant in an increasingly automated design landscape.