Canva Layoffs Turn on Location, Not Just Headcount

The 1,271 figure behind the Canva layoffs is not a count of lost jobs. Chief executive Melanie Perkins told staff on November 4 that it covers people facing job cuts, changes to their roles, or requests to relocate, and Canva has not said how many fall into each group. What the company did spell out is where the work is going. Sydney becomes the primary home for more product teams, and some staff elsewhere are being asked to relocate.

The Canva Layoffs Number Covers Three Outcomes

Perkins said 22% of the workforce is affected. Some people will lose their jobs, some will see their roles change, and some will be asked to move to centralized hubs. The note gave no count for any of the three. That makes the number of lost jobs no larger than 1,271 and possibly far smaller.

Social posts and some news headlines that say Canva is letting go of 1,271 people have folded three outcomes into one. The accurate statement is narrower. Canva has said how many people are affected and has not said how many are out.

Sydney Takes More of the Product Work

The Canva restructuring merges its product, growth, and platform teams into one product organization. Sydney becomes the primary base for more of those teams, with relocation support for some staff. From January 2027, most hybrid employees are expected in a local office two to three days a week.

Canva also said its decisions rest on skills, team structures, and locations. A role’s address is now one of the inputs to whether it stays. Canva operates in 37 countries, and Perkins wrote that the timing of conversations with affected staff will differ by local requirements.

The Six-Month Floor Absorbs the Law’s Share

For the Canva layoffs, the company said everyone who leaves receives at least six months of pay, regardless of location, and that the six months includes statutory entitlements. Canva’s money starts where the law’s money ends.

Philippine redundancy pay is at least one month’s pay, or one month’s pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. A fraction of at least six months counts as a full year. That is Article 298 of the Labor Code, as implemented through DOLE rules.

Here is an illustration using base pay only, and assuming a role is cut as a redundancy. It is arithmetic, not Canva data. At ₱80,000 a month and three years of service, the statute pays ₱240,000, so a six-month floor of ₱480,000 would add ₱240,000. At six years the statute alone pays ₱480,000 and the top-up is zero. At ten years the statute pays ₱800,000, which is more than the floor. The Canva Manila office opened in 2014, so some staff there could have the tenure to reach those last two cases.

Philippine Notice Rules Set the Earliest Exit Date

Redundancy here requires written notice to the employee and to the DOLE at least 30 days before the termination takes effect. Canva said timing varies by country. In the Philippines, the 30-day period sets the earliest date any exit can take effect.

Canva Has Not Said How Many Manila Staff Are Affected

Canva has not disclosed how many of the 1,271 work in the Philippines, so the effect of the Canva layoffs here is unconfirmed. Manila was its first office outside Australia, and the office has reportedly grown past 1,000 people. Canva’s Philippine country manager, Yani Hornilla-Donato, said in 2024 that most Filipino employees work in customer happiness, the team that supports users worldwide.

The moves Canva described center on product, growth, and platform teams and on Sydney. If that describes where Manila’s weight sits, the pressure to move or leave would fall on a smaller slice of the office than its headcount implies. That is inference from Canva’s stated structure, and the company has not confirmed it.

Canva Is Pointing Departing Staff to Hiring Employers

Canva created an opt-in alumni directory for departing staff and asked employers who are hiring to contact Perkins. It is also offering US$10,000 grants to former staff starting businesses. Whether any Filipino staff are in that pool depends on the number Canva has not given.

The Canva layoffs come with one pay floor for 37 countries, and each country’s law decides the rest. In the Philippines that puts staff with about five and a half years of service or more under the statute, which owes them at least as much as the floor. Everyone with less tenure gets a top-up that shrinks with each year served. How many of those people are in Manila is the figure Canva has not published.

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