Tech Layoffs Hit Squarespace, Canva and Block as Nasdaq Falls

Squarespace cut roughly 300 jobs on Monday, November 2, and Canva followed within days with a restructuring that affects 1,271 employees. Block started a second round of layoffs on November 5, the same day the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5% and closed in correction territory. The cuts land in product, engineering and design teams while AI spending dominates what tech companies plan to build next.

Tech layoffs 2026 have been running hot, and these three companies are reorganizing around smaller teams and fewer management layers. Each one is giving employees a different explanation for why.

Squarespace cuts 19% of staff, mostly in product and engineering

Squarespace is reducing its global workforce by about 19%, or around 300 people, out of roughly 1,800 employees, according to The Next Web. The Verge first reported the cuts on Monday. Investing.com's reporting found that most of the reductions fall on product and engineering.

In a companywide memo, CEO Anthony Casalena described smaller teams, more player coaches and a simplified organizational structure. He wrote that “the way we need to work is changing faster than at any point in our history, and our operating model must adapt for the modern era.” A company spokesperson, Jeff Seedman, said the changes are “intended to simplify how we operate, sharpen our priorities and enable the company to move faster.”

Squarespace also pushed back on speculation, circulating on the anonymous workplace app Blind, that the layoffs were driven by plans to spend more on AI infrastructure. That denial comes from the company itself and has not been independently verified.

Departing staff receive a minimum of 16 weeks of base pay and continued healthcare benefits through May 2027. Squarespace also says employees can keep their company laptops, according to TheStreet.

Canva's 22% cut and its six-month severance promise

Canva is cutting 22% of its staff, about 1,271 people, according to a blog post from CEO Melanie Perkins. The restructuring includes layoffs, role changes and the relocation of some employees to what Perkins called “centralized hubs.” Canva is also merging its product, growth and platform divisions into a single centralized product organization.

By simple arithmetic, a 22% cut of 1,271 implies a starting headcount of roughly 5,500. Reports also disagree on the announcement date. InformationWeek says November 3, while Whizlabs says November 4. Whizlabs, citing TechCrunch, also quoted Perkins saying, “This has been our hardest year yet.”

Canva promised affected employees at least six months of base pay, wherever they work. Quartz cites roughly 16 weeks of base pay as the common reference point for major tech companies, which makes Canva's package an outlier. Canva was founded in Australia and has a large U.S. presence, but these reports do not say how many of the 1,271 roles are in the United States.

Block's second round and the missing headcount

Block began a second round of layoffs in 2026 on November 5, after cutting more than 4,000 jobs earlier this year. The November round started at seven weeks of base pay, according to Quartz. The company has not disclosed how many people it is cutting this time.

Block is based in San Francisco, so its cuts reach American workers directly. Squarespace, now privately held, does too.

Yahoo Tech's tracker also reports that Disney is reportedly planning to lay off thousands of workers as part of a plan to cut annual costs by 20%. Those layoffs have not been confirmed, so treat them as a possibility rather than a fact.

Tech layoffs 2026 compared with last year

TrueUp's tracker counts about 204,893 tech employees affected so far in 2026 as of November 7, compared with 245,953 for all of 2025. TrueUp uses its own methodology, so treat its count as one measure rather than a definitive total. A straight-line extrapolation at the year-to-date pace would land near 240,000 by December 31, just below the 2025 figure.

Microsoft's cuts came in July, about 4,800 roles or 2.1% of its workforce, according to ABC News. Its chief people officer said the roles were not replaced by AI and that “AI is changing how work gets done.” Microsoft also offered exit packages to about 60,000 more employees, as Whizlabs reported. USA 24 has covered that offer in detail in its coverage of the Microsoft voluntary buyout.

Companies are also trying to flatten their organizations. Microsoft plans to cut Xbox to five management layers or fewer, according to Whizlabs, and Squarespace's memo makes the same case for smaller teams. The contrast is clear: Microsoft frames its cuts around how AI is changing work, while Squarespace rejects any AI link.

Why the Nasdaq selloff raises the stakes

On Thursday, November 5, the S&P 500 fell 4.3% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.5%, pushing the tech-heavy index into correction territory, according to Yahoo Finance. The Philadelphia semiconductor index fell 12% that day. Nvidia shed about $440 billion in market value in the same selloff, per Moneycontrol via TradingView.

Sources tie that selloff partly to fears of tighter AI rules after the midterm elections, but they differ on the cause. It is not settled whether the drop reflects a lasting AI-regulation risk premium or a short-term correction. USA 24 has tracked the index damage in its report on the Nasdaq correction.

The two stories share a budget question. Companies are trimming product and engineering teams while investors weigh how much AI spending will pay off. Big Tech earnings this week are the next test of how the market reads that spending.

What affected workers should do now

• Get your severance terms in writing, including the weeks of base pay, any lump sum and the date your benefits end.
• Mark the healthcare cutoff. Squarespace's continued coverage runs through May 2027.
• Confirm that Canva's six months of base pay applies to you, and ask how relocation to a centralized hub would work.
• Ask whether company equipment can stay with you. Squarespace says employees can keep their laptops.
• Read any release or separation agreement carefully before you sign it.

Job seekers should expect more experienced product and engineering candidates in the market. A clear record of measurable impact will matter more than usual when hiring managers have a larger pool to choose from.

What to watch next

Three things will show whether this round is a one-time reset or the start of something larger. The first is whether Disney confirms its reported layoffs. The second is whether Block discloses a headcount for its November cut and whether Canva settles its announcement date. The third is whether the selloff deepens and companies start citing AI rules or AI spending as reasons for more cuts. Squarespace's denial of an AI link is worth checking against future memos and filings from its peers.