[arenaninja]

Run away

The same happened to me 5 (?) years ago. I was young, dumb and excited about the opportunity. It was downhill from the moment I signed with constant extensions to my contract and excuses (like how my salary was lower because they wanted it to be close to what I would get after taxes when I became a W2 employee)

They have no respect for you or your time, and it's endemic in the company culture. Don't even try to negotiate this: walk away and MAYBE tell them why. IF they come back with EVERYTHING they promised you (unlikely that their benefits even exist) then you can consider joining if you don't have something better on the table. But even then I would still walk away 100% of the time

Don't listen to their bullshit about how it's a risk hiring you etc. You take an equal risk in a clown show of a company. There's plenty of opportunities out there at the moment to even try negotiating this one

[maybecontractor]

Appreciate the perspective and sorry that that happened to you. There are some red flags, but I don't think this change is in bad faith. They're a small company, and haven't pulled the "you're a risk card". Plus the contract is really simple and open-ended. Just adding a bit more colour...