Exactly what I have wondered myself!

I do know many big corporations are badly managed but I just can't believe any big corp is so badly managed that they do things like that on purpose so I can only, off the top of my head, see two scenarios:

1. They either accidentally extended the status of so many of us.
2. Or they accidentally downgraded us after that promise.

I just can't see any corporation making a "let's say to all these people we extend the status and then we just won't do it, hahahaha" decision.