Canva Cuts 1,200 Jobs and Orders Remote Staff Back

Canva cut 1,200 jobs and ordered remote workers back to its $130 million Surry Hills headquarters. The Australian’s audio episode, The Front, examined the layoffs alongside the new return-to-office mandate, a requirement governing where remote workers must work.

Founder Melanie Perkins described the restructuring as a “refounding” of the company. That word gives a fresh label to a shakeup involving 1,200 layoffs. The episode set her description beside the return-to-office order, making the hierarchy plain in the facts it reported: company leadership can recast the organization and require remote workers to return to headquarters, while employees face lost jobs and a changed workplace requirement.

Jobs Cut, Rules Set From Above

The episode identified AI disruption, flattening growth and a significant valuation reduction as issues behind Canva’s changes. It considered those pressures alongside the layoffs and office mandate, without tying each decision to one specific cause. That distinction matters: the reported pressures provide context, while the restructuring and return-to-office requirement are actions the company took.

The $130 million Surry Hills headquarters sits at the center of the mandate. The episode asked what requiring remote workers to return there might reveal about the tech industry’s future. It posed the question, but the account here doesn’t provide an answer or say how workers responded. Nor does it describe negotiations, worker-led organizing, mutual aid or direct action around the decision. The account offers no grassroots response to balance the company’s authority over jobs and workplace rules.

The reported human cost is concrete. There were 1,200 layoffs. The source doesn’t identify individual workers, say what support they received, or explain how many remote workers the office requirement covers. It also doesn’t provide details about severance, consultation or the timing of the layoffs. Those gaps shouldn’t invite guesses. The episode does establish that Canva is restructuring while directing remote workers back to its headquarters.

A “Refounding” Under Corporate Authority

The Front also framed the developments as a question: what does the return-to-office requirement reveal about the tech industry’s future? The episode linked that question to AI disruption, flattening growth and the valuation reduction, rather than treating the mandate as an isolated workplace detail. For employees, the reported terms are direct: the company has cut jobs, and it has told remote workers to return to the Surry Hills headquarters.

John Stensholt, The Australian’s resident billionaire expert, joined presenter and producer Claire Harvey for the discussion. Jasper Leak also presented and produced the episode, while Joshua Burton edited it. Kristen Amiet, Lia Tsamoglou and Tiffany Dimmack joined the team, and Leak composed the theme. The episode invited listeners to read more at theaustralian.com.au and watch a video by subscribing to The Australian’s YouTube channel.

The account mentions no election, legislative response or institutional aid program. It quotes no workers’ collective. The company’s founder supplies the language of renewal; the reported figures convey the scale of the shakeup. One side names the “refounding.” The other is 1,200 jobs gone and a return-to-office requirement.