I suppose it can mean that, but in practice, it doesn't. Being fired and being laid off are very different things in this year's English.

So different, in fact, that I have been "laid off" when the employer really had a mind to fire me for poor performance but wanted to avoid hurting my future prospects.

Here, don't take my word for it:

https://www.google.com/search?q=fired+laid+off

Well, it can, but there are several people here, as well as several Google results, which say that "fired" carries a much more negative connotation.