Maybe they decided to see how many takers they could get with 60 weeks. I think this was a "lets see what happens". Like buying a house, the seller wants 400. you offer 380, they say no you want the house, you pay 400.
We all know who they want gone, removing the cap hits that specific group of people. And, being denied is not grounds for a lawsuit, That possibility is part of the package AND, they state that they will give preference to the most tenured employees. So, no surprises with that.