Rhuby comments: ...akin to your "featherbedding, but the workers were taken from existing staff left over from when there was either more work, or most likely, when there was less technology that did away with the necessity for so many skilled people.

Pretty much the origin of featherbedding. The classic example was the fireman, a holdover from the days of coal fired steam engines, being required on the crew of a diesel locomotive.