edit: not sure right forum... feel free to move. nyc based agency offers a freelancer to come (back) on as permanent. the deal for the freelancer (when the agency had trouble getting business) was $70/h. Business was good this year so freelancer made about 100k up to this point. New CFO wants to put freelancer back on permanent on 130k/year but wants to include the 100k into this calculation so basically paying 30k gross for rest of the year while there is going to be still alot of work (allthough not has busy as the past 3m). Freelancer is top notch, was headhunted for this agency, has 10y experience and afaik has not made any major mistakes at all.

I couldn't believe this when I heard about it and said to walk, it's a no brainer but the agency said work can continue to be 100% remote which is a perk hard to get apparently. The role has been 100% remote for 3years now.

Problem is the friend is a bit timid and fears to give up the role. I suggested that such a deal is an insult and they probably want to cut staff anyhow and friend can either accept or will get pushed out somehow and replaced with cheaper person. I advised to 100% not accept this deal and start looking elsewhere.

Views?

Something doesn't make sense here, I think it's how you are phrasing it.

It doesn't sound like u are being offered 130k a year tho

He'll get replaced by someone cheaper eventually anyway so he might as well go for everything he can get now.

Yeah no. I'd start prospecting for new customers asap though if I were the freelancer. I suspect the freelancer has most of the leverage here and this is the cfo engaging in some pretty wishful thinking.

Obviously this is the easiest way for them to fire him... they're kinda free rolling cause maybe he's stupid enough to work for free basically. 0% chance they keep him on after the year... why would they pay 130k a year when they can pay 30k for 5 months work.... The easiest way to deal with this is reject the offer say I'd like to continue our existing agreement and when they say no they essentially fired him or they'll possibly make a counter offer but their offer seems so ridiculous they are not actually serious about keeping him.

If they were reasonable they would offer 130k/year moving forward so he'd make 130k/52 a week starting next week. Deals don't work retroactively like they're attempting. (Even thats a bad deal cause he makes 200kish a year on old deal so I would personally not agree to such a reduction in salary.)

Everything is negotiable. 130K a year is 10,800 a month. 4 months left in the year = 43k. If your friend even wants to consider moving back to salary, which it sounds like is at least a consideration. Unless he is only going to be working many less hours than first 7 months of the year should 30k be a consideration. And if that is the case, why would CFO want to move friend to salary?