How to Handle Redundancy With Dignity: Lessons From Canva
You open your laptop and there's a meeting invite you weren't expecting. No agenda. Fifteen minutes. Your stomach drops before you've even clicked it.
How that next quarter of an hour is handled will stay with you for years. Here's what one CEO got right this week, and what every leader and HR team can learn from it.
Key takeaways
The CEO should front it, not hide
Say sorry, and mean it
Explain the real reason honestly
Protect people's dignity on the day
Support people well beyond the legal minimum
In nearly 18 years of recruiting Senior HR Professionals across Asia, I've heard a lot of redundancy stories. Most of them aren't good.
I know what a badly handled redundancy feels like, because it happened to me. I'd moved to Australia, and then the GFC hit. Nine months in, I was brought into a room and told I was being made redundant. Then I was told I wouldn't receive any salary, because they were taking back my relocation costs.
A while ago, a client of a company I worked for at the time made a round of redundancies. It got bad press, some of it on LinkedIn. A junior consultant in my team saw the posts and commented on how badly it had been handled.
Then I got a call from the client's VP of HR. She was disappointed that one of their vendors had commented publicly. I apologised, explained it was a junior consultant, and said we would take it down.
But we carried on talking, and it soon became clear she wasn't happy with how it had been handled either. She had pushed back to the CEO and the business leader, and been overruled. Now the company was being criticised in public, and she was the one trying to handle the fallout as best she could.
I had a lot of empathy for the people who had lost their jobs. But I was also concerned for her. Her reputation was being damaged by a decision she had argued against. She left not long after.
That's the part people outside HR rarely see. Many of the HR Directors I speak to don't agree with how their company handles redundancies. They argue for more notice, a better package, a kinder process. They lose that argument. Then they're the ones who have to stand in the room and deliver it.
So when Canva's CEO, Melanie Perkins, published her letter to employees this week, it stood out. Not because the news was good. It wasn't. But because of how it was done.
What happened at Canva?
On 3 November, Canva announced that 1,271 people, about 22% of the company, will be affected by a major restructure. Some roles are going. Some people will be offered different roles or asked to relocate.
Perkins said growth had slowed "for the first time in a decade" and that "small changes won't be enough." She wants to "refound Canva" around small, empowered teams, fewer layers and more people working together in hubs, with Sydney as the main home for product teams. It's the first mass layoff in Canva's 13-year history.
It's landing against a tougher backdrop closer to home too. In Singapore, retrenchments rose to 4,800 in the third quarter of 2026, the highest since late 2020, with business reorganisation the main reason, according to Ministry of Manpower data.
Why do so many redundancies go so badly?
Because they're usually designed to protect the company, not the people. The process is built around legal risk, speed and secrecy, and dignity gets squeezed out.
The same things go wrong again and again:
The decision is made far away. A regional or global head office sets the numbers and the timeline. Local leaders and HR find out late, with little room to change anything.
Legal writes the script. Every word is checked for risk, so the message comes out cold and generic.
Security comes before people. Access is cut mid-meeting. People pack a box while colleagues pretend not to watch.
Leaders disappear. The CEO sends an email, and the line manager or HR is left to face the room.
The package is the bare minimum. In Singapore, retrenchment benefit isn't mandated by law. The tripartite norm is two weeks to one month's salary per year of service, and people with less than two years' service aren't eligible, though employers can make a goodwill payment.
Singapore's own tripartite guidance on responsible retrenchment says people should be treated "in a dignified manner". It even spells out that "there is no need to have security escorting retrenched employees out of the workplace on the presumption that they will sabotage the business." The fact that it needs saying tells you how often it happens.
None of this is usually HR's preference. HR is often the function arguing for a more humane approach, and losing.
What did Canva get right?
The CEO took ownership, apologised, explained the reason honestly and backed her words with real support. Here's what stood out.
The CEO fronted it herself
The letter came from Perkins, signed simply "Mel". She didn't hide behind a press release or leave it to HR. When the person who made the decision owns it, it takes some of the weight off the HR team and the managers who have to hold the individual conversations.
She apologised, and meant it
"I'm deeply sorry for the pain and disruption this will cause for everyone affected." And to the people leaving: "I am deeply sorry this is how your chapter at Canva is ending."
Most redundancy messages avoid the word sorry because someone worries it sounds like an admission. It isn't. It's basic decency, and people notice when it's missing.
She explained why
She didn't dress it up as "realignment" and leave people guessing. Growth had slowed, the company had become too layered, and she'd concluded that small changes weren't enough. You can disagree with the decision. But you know what it is.
She protected people's dignity
She was clear that the decisions "do not diminish your talent, the value of your contributions, or the difference you've made here." People keep Slack and Gmail until the end of the week, so they can say goodbye properly. Everyone keeps their MacBook, because "not everyone has a personal laptop." Non-critical meetings were cancelled, and staff could take the day off without it counting as leave.
Compare that with having your access switched off before you've left the meeting room.
The support goes well beyond the minimum
At least six months' salary, including statutory entitlements, regardless of location
Twelve months of continued healthcare, in countries where Canva already provides it
Twelve months of its employee assistance programme, extended to family members
The one-year vesting cliff removed for people who joined in the past year
One-to-one career coaching, interview preparation and a year of LinkedIn Premium, with Canva's own talent acquisition team helping
An opt-in alumni talent directory shared with Canva's investors, partners and wider network
US$10,000 grants for anyone who wants to start a business or community project, with Canva taking no equity
A one-to-one meeting with a senior leader to talk through next steps
As a headhunter, the alumni directory is the one I like most. Hiring managers trust a warm introduction far more than a cold application. Canva is putting its own reputation behind the people it's letting go.
It's still terrible for the people losing their jobs
A good package doesn't make redundancy painless. People still lose their income, their routine, their team and, for many, part of their identity. Some will be on work passes with visa deadlines to think about. Some will be the main earner at home.
There are also things we don't know yet. Canva hasn't said how many of the 1,271 are leaving and how many are moving roles or relocating. The six months includes statutory pay, and healthcare only continues where Canva already provides it. Being asked to relocate to a hub, or to be in the office two to three days a week from January, may mean some people leave anyway.
So I'm not saying Canva got everything right. I'm saying that in a hard situation, it set a standard most companies don't come close to.
What should HR leaders push for next time?
Use Canva as your evidence. When the next restructure lands on your desk, it's far easier to argue for a better approach when you can point to a well-known company that has done it in public.
Here's what I'd take into that conversation with the CEO:
The leader who made the decision tells people, in their own words.
Say sorry, and explain the real reason in plain language.
Tell employees before the press or the market hears. Singapore's guidance asks employers to communicate early, before any public notice.
Keep access long enough for people to say goodbye, and drop the security escort.
Pay above the statutory minimum where you can, and extend healthcare and wellbeing support.
Give practical career support: coaching, CV and interview help, introductions.
Build an alumni or talent network and share it with people who are hiring.
Look after the people who stay. They're watching how their colleagues are treated, and you'll need a plan to protect the team from burnout as the work is redistributed.
Final thoughts
Redundancy is one of the hardest things any leader or HR team has to deal with. There is no version of it that doesn't hurt.
But there is a difference between a redundancy people remember as brutal and one they remember as fair. Canva shows that the difference comes down to choices: who delivers the news, whether they say sorry, how honestly they explain it, and how far the support goes.
If you're an HR leader who has argued for a kinder approach and lost, keep making the case. If you're one of the people affected, at Canva or anywhere else, a redundancy says more about the company's situation than about your ability. It's possible to turn a redundancy into a better next move, and a strong LinkedIn profile that attracts recruiters is a good place to start. And whatever your role, it's worth taking steps now to layoff-proof your career.
FAQ
How should a company handle redundancy?
The leader who made the decision should tell people directly, explain the real reason and apologise. Communicate early, treat people with dignity on the day, pay above the statutory minimum where possible, and offer practical career support. Then look after the people who stay.
What should a redundancy letter to employees include?
What is happening and how many people are affected, the honest reason for it, an apology, what happens next and when, the full support package, and who people can contact with questions. Canva's letter covered all of these.
What did Canva offer employees affected by its layoffs?
At least six months' salary, 12 months of healthcare where it already provides it, 12 months of its employee assistance programme for staff and family, removal of the one-year vesting cliff, career coaching, a year of LinkedIn Premium, an alumni talent directory, their laptop, and US$10,000 grants for anyone starting a business or community project.
What retrenchment benefit is normal in Singapore?
Retrenchment benefit isn't mandated by law. Under the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment, the prevailing norm is two weeks to one month's salary per year of service, depending on the company's financial position and industry norms. In unionised companies where the amount is set out in the collective agreement, the norm is one month per year of service. Employees with less than two years' service aren't eligible, though employers can choose to make a goodwill (ex-gratia) payment. Employers with at least 10 employees must also notify the Ministry of Manpower within five working days of telling an employee.
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