What’s crazy to me is that they aren’t even asking for that many!

And the reason is exactly what you’d expect, cost cutting.

“Over the past six years, America’s major freight carriers have shed 30 percent of their employees.”
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/11/rail-strike-why-the-railroads-wont-give-in-on-paid-leave-psr-precision-scheduled-railroading.html