Employment Law Re: Layoff vs Termination

Last fall two colleagues were laid off and offered severence packages because the their skills did not correspond with departmental needs. During my recent performance review I was told essentially the same thing and that my performance in one particular area needed improvement. I was told that my position would be eliminated by a certain date (or earlier if I found another position) or if I wanted to stay in the position I needed to improve in this area. I was told that this is not a lay-off. It seems that the company wants to get rid of me without severence which is inconsistent with other departmental layoffs. I am suspicious of their actions because the weakness they claim is an area discussed at a previous review. Although I was informed there was no budget for me to acquire training I researched online "free" options and presented them to my manager to see what would be acceptable. I was informed that it would not be necessary due to a change in process. It seems the reason for the position ending conflicts--is it change in departmental needs or performance? I think they want to make it a performance issue so they don't have to offer a severence package. I have been at my job for almost 10 years, I am over 50 and of ethnic decent and I wonder if the inconsistent treatment could be due to one of these factors. Your thoughts?