Canva Lays Off 22% of Staff and Cuts Growth Forecast on AI Costs

Restructuring and a new way of working

The layoffs come with a deep reorganization. Canva is merging its product, growth and platform teams to reduce communication barriers. It is also moving away from narrow specialization, expecting employees to take on a broader range of responsibilities. In addition, the company is introducing a requirement to work from the office several days a week.

AI costs and mounting competition

Canva is trying to bring costs down by deploying its own AI models, which should reduce its dependence on external providers. Even so, higher AI-related spending forced it to lower its revenue growth forecast from 30% to 20%. Earlier investors have also marked down the company's valuation this year to around $35 billion.

Competition is adding pressure. Specialized AI startups and general-purpose chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini now offer advanced image generation, letting users create posters or presentations without opening a traditional design tool.

For Canva's users, the key question is whether the leaner, more integrated organization can ship AI features faster while keeping its own infrastructure bill under control. The company's strategy rests on building its own models rather than paying outside vendors, a bet that will determine whether it can protect margins as rivals bundle design capabilities into assistants people already use.