announced 22 per cent of its global workforce would be impacted by the restructure<\/a> in a shock move last week.<\/p>\nSince then, wistful posts from now former \u201cCanvanauts\u201d have been popping up across LinkedIn and other social sites describing how grateful they were to have worked at the firm.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently, my new full-time job is being unemployed,\u201d one staffer, dubbing herself a \u201cRedundiva\u201d, wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s office? My bed. Today\u2019s dress code? Pyjamas. Today\u2019s productivity? Actually quite impressive, if I do say so myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut honestly, the biggest part of today has been failing down a deep nostalgia rabbit hole, looking back at all the content I\u2019ve created since joining Canva. And what a trip.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould I change any of it? Absolutely not. Would I like to rewind to last Friday, when I was blissfully unaware of the s***storm heading my way? Also absolutely yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some industry watchers have labelled Canva\u2019s mass firing a \u201cPR masterclass\u201d, with sacked staff offered six-month severance payouts, $US10,000 each in seed cash, LinkedIn premium subscriptions and the gifts of healthcare and keeping their laptops.<\/p>\n
Co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins last week wrote the decision to restructure was \u201cwithout doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter exploring a wide range of alternatives, I\u2019ve come to the difficult conclusion that small changes won\u2019t be enough,\u201d she wrote to staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo set ourselves up for the next decade, we need to refound Canva, getting back to our roots of small, empowered teams with the freedom to make decisions, take ownership and focus on what matters most for our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Watch this space\u2019<\/p>\n
Among the stream of reactions from staff, which were promptly shared on social media, many were tinged with self-deprecation and gratitude in classic LinkedIn fashion. <\/p>\n
\u201cWaking up this morning I opened Slack and my calendar (like I normally do, toxic I know lol). But this morning was different because yesterday I was one of the 22% at Canva that no longer have a role,\u201d one LinkedIn post read.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I applied for a product job at Canva from little old Nelson, New Zealand I was hoping to get some good interview experience and get a little insight into a product I\u2019d used to land my first tech job 2016. <\/p>\n
\u201cI NEVER actually thought I\u2019d get the job at Canva. (There\u2019s a lesson here, don\u2019t let self doubt be the thing that stops you!)<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I am so incredibly grateful I did. While it will take some time to process how it ended, I wanted to start by reflecting on the journey and how this \u2018just a job\u2019 really changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another former staffer filmed her reaction to learning she had been fired before posting it to Instagram last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God \u2026 I got laid off,\u201d she says in the video. \u201cWhat am I gonna do?\u201d<\/p>\n
She went on to say she had worked at Canva for three years and although she was \u201cprepared\u201d for receiving bad news, she not expecting it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I found out yesterday I probably cried for three to four hours,\u201d she said, before musing that the redundancy could lead to her finding a job she was excited about.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout a push like this I don\u2019t think I would have ever made the decision to quit my job and do something I actually love.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo maybe that\u2019s the silver lining in all of this \u2026 maybe my life is gonna turn around.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo having said that maybe I am a little bit excited about all of this. Another cheesy quote but \u2018watch this space\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
She posted another video documenting her last few hours spent in the Surry Hills office with work friends before her access to the building was revoked.<\/p>\n
A Canva employee based in Dubai said news she had lost her job was \u201cnot something I wanted to wake up to\u201d before highlighting how the firm had been supportive during her maternity leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest I\u2019m still in denial,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people have said being laid off is the best thing that ever happened to them, but for me I\u2019m not too sure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to come here and say that Canva has been hands down the best organisation to work with.<\/p>\n
\u201cCanva has been the most supportive employer ever \u2026 and I\u2019m really, really bummed that I\u2019m not going to get that sheer joy of telling people that I work at Canva.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shared a part two explaining what Canva was doing to help affected employees transition into the next phase of their careers.<\/p>\n
One X user, who claimed to have last worked for the graphic design darling in 2021, took aim at the departing Canva employees for their enthusiastic LinkedIn announcements.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so funny scrolling Australian Linkedin and watching the collective Canva crashout,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou either leave a company in good times or ride it out and get laid off in bad times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Capitalism in a woke dress\u2019<\/p>\n
Not all of the reactions were so bittersweet and twee, however.<\/p>\n
The major restructure, the first in Canva\u2019s 13-year history, came after the company posted lower than expected revenue this year with disruption from AI flagged as a challenge. <\/p>\n
The Australian Financial Review reported in April that the company, which is not publicly listed, had a valuation of about $US31 billion ($44.5 billion). However, that was down from more than $US42 billion in 2025 as concerns lingered over how the firm would adapt to an artificial intelligence era where users can use other platforms to make content for free.<\/p>\n
On LinkedIn, UK tech founder Isvari Maranwe shared a graphic from a news site announcing Canva\u2019s redundancy which had been edited to draw a red line through \u201ca masterclass in how to handle layoffs\u201d. She replaced those words with: \u201cbad. It\u2019s bad\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, I\u2019ll be the bad guy. Canva is not a perfect company,\u201d Ms Maranwe wrote. \u201cIt is just a company. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this nonsense about the \u2018dream layoff\u2019? And \u2018every company should copy them?\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cHave we lost our collective mind? Canva is laying off 22% of its staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis doesn\u2019t become good because of layoff perks. This doesn\u2019t become good because the founder is a minority woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is just evil capitalism in a woke dress.\u201d<\/p>\n
US-based HR specialist Jessica D Winder was another dissenting voice on LinkedIn, writing people should \u201cstop praising Canva for how they handled layoffs\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cCanva announced a restructuring impacting 22% of its workforce. And somehow, LinkedIn turned it into a celebration of leadership excellence,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have lowered the bar so far that companies are now getting standing ovations for firing people nicely.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former employees of Australian tech unicorn Canva have flooded social media with a positive spin on news 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