Envato to cut a third of global workforce as it ramps up AI
Hichame Assi - CEO of Envato
Melbourne-based creative platform Envato is to slash a third of its workforce amid a push to embed artificial intelligence across its operations.
The digital assets marketplace told staff this week it would undertake a major global restructure, resulting in an estimated 30% reduction of its headcount, Mumbrella understands.
The move follows similar announcements from other tech companies, including Afterpay parent Block, which plans to cut 4,000 jobs—around 40% of its workforce—and Wisetech, which is set to reduce 2,000 roles as part of its AI-driven transformation.
Envato’s business is built on selling subscriptions to content creators, supplying stock images, video, sounds and music. In recent years, it has diversified to provide AI generation tools.
In a staff announcement shared in part with Mumbrella, Envato CEO Hichame Assi said the company had completed a “strategic review” that will lead to “significant changes” across its roughly 600-strong workforce in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Mexico.
“These changes will include redundancies, redeployments, role changes, promotions and reporting line changes, and will impact all teams across the business,” he wrote.
“The key focus of this review was to reimagine and evolve Envato’s team structure to execute our strategy and respond to rapidly changing customer expectations.
“We are reducing the number of layers, creating smaller and more focused teams, and elevating the importance of individual contributors so more of us can directly impact customer outcomes. In parallel, we are reducing operational costs to ensure we can invest further in product, marketing and AI.”
Assi acknowledged the emotional impact on staff: “I’m conscious that there will be a mix of emotions across our global teams this week. None of these decisions has been taken lightly, and we will ensure this process is as respectful, professional and transparent as possible.”
Mumbrella has asked Envato for further clarification on the number of roles affected. To be clear, Envato has not confirmed to Mumbrella that 30% of roles are being targeted. This information comes from a source.
Envato was founded in Sydney in 2006 by husband-and-wife duo Cyan and Collis Ta’eed, who sold the business in 2024 to New York-listed Shutterstock for A$373 million.
Collis Ta’eed stepped down as CEO in late 2020, with former HotelsCombined.com leader Hichame Assi taking the reins. The couple officially exited the company by the end of 2024.
Over the past year, Envato has been promoting itself in the UK with a major branding campaign in London and was recently announced as a sponsor of the upcoming AARON Awards, celebrating “creative excellence in the age of AI.”
Rounding off his email to staff, Assi said: “Our priority is supporting the people whose employment is ending, with empathy and respect. I ask for patience and sensitivity from all team members until we can communicate the outcome of the changes.
“To everyone leaving Envato this week, thank you—and gracias—for everything you’ve contributed. I am grateful for your impact along this journey and wish you the best in your next chapter.”
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