Canva’s 1,271-Employee Cut Puts Leadership on Display

By Grace Kim

Canva is cutting or reshaping 22% of its workforce—1,271 employees—after its first growth slowdown in a decade, according to an internal memo from CEO Melanie Perkins.

Jerry Colonna, co-founder and CEO of Reboot, examined the move in an expert opinion. He wrote: “Bad news happens. How you deliver it makes all the difference.”

Colonna focused on the difference between a headcount decision and the way a company carries it out. He treated the memo’s details—salary, health coverage, transition support, system access and meetings—as the center of the story.

What changed at Canva?

According to Colonna, the restructuring will eliminate some positions, change the roles of others and require some employees to relocate. The 22% figure covers those changes, not just job losses.

Perkins’ internal memo put a number on the plan: 1,271 affected employees. Some will leave Canva, others will take different roles, and others will relocate. Colonna described the slowdown as Canva’s first growth slowdown in a decade.

The announcement therefore covers more than dismissals. It sets out three outcomes for affected employees: an exit, a changed role or a move to another location. That broader scope explains why Colonna described the action as a cut and a reshape.

What do departing employees receive?

Perkins’ memo sets out a package for employees who leave. Colonna said those workers will receive at least six months’ salary, continued healthcare benefits and career transition support.

• At least six months’ salary for departing employees.
• Continued healthcare benefits for departing employees.
• Career transition support for departing employees.

The package gives departing workers defined pay, health coverage and assistance for what comes next.

How did Perkins manage the termination week?

Colonna said employees covered by the restructuring can keep using Slack and Gmail through the end of their termination week. The access lets them say goodbye to team members, wrap up conversations and leave with some closure, he wrote.

He also said Perkins canceled all non-essential meetings. The aim was to keep departing employees from carrying the added mental burden of pretending business was normal.

“Too many companies treat layoffs like a lockout: one day employees have jobs, the next they’re locked out of their email,” Colonna wrote. Cutting off access without warning, he added, adds insult to an already painful experience.

The practical result is a final working week with continued access to workplace tools and fewer demands on departing employees’ time.

What does the approach signal to the team that stays?

Perkins’ approach does more than address the employees on the restructuring list, in Colonna’s view. He called it humane and considerate. It also shows remaining employees and predecessors how much the company values its people.

For colleagues who stay, the practical changes are visible: fewer non-essential meetings and departing coworkers who can still reach them on Slack and Gmail during their final week. Colonna treats those details as part of the signal Canva sends to the team it retains.

What is the leadership lesson?

Colonna’s lesson centers on the steps he described: specify the support package, keep communication open through the termination week and remove meetings that would force people to perform normalcy. Canva’s approach supplies the example—six months of pay, continued healthcare, transition support, continued Slack and Gmail access and no non-essential meetings.

For Colonna, the reset now faces a practical test: whether remaining employees see the treatment of departing colleagues as evidence that Canva values them. In his view, the handling of the cuts, not just the cuts themselves, will shape how the team reads the company’s commitment to its people.