Can an Employer Take Away Severance Pay at Any Time

Hello,

I worked for a company for 9 years with a severance policy that stated that if I were layed off, I would get a week per year as severance. I was just layed off three days ago, and was only given 2 weeks severance. Here's what happened that allowed them to justify this. In preparation for these latest set of layoffs, the company passed around another updated copy of their employee handbook. We all had to sign off that we received it and read it. In it, they did NOT mention the topic of severance, but it was obvious from the exclusion that they did not want to commit themselves to paying out severance any longer. Five days later, they layed off a group of employees. I was included in that group. The company has been laying off people for a few years now because there has been a steady decline in revenue, but severance pay was always included as part of the termination package.

I have no doubt that what they did was unethical. However, is there any legal recourse I can take? I would appreciate any opinions and input in this matter.

Thanks
Pep2000