If it's a company with reasonably well defined HR, privacy, or data protection standards, recording a conversation without consent is likely to be considered a serious disciplinary issue that could see you fired on the spot. So be very careful with that approach.
As above, this could be a manager trying to give you a heads up of a performance issue, but doing so badly. At the next meeting, talk to her about your recent work, and ask her for feedback on your performance. If she says any of it was deemed to be below expectations, ask her to explain in more detail. If she is unable to highlight any performance issues, then explain to her how you interpreted the previous conversation and ask her to clarify.
Document this feedback and send her a copy, asking her to review and notify you of any inaccuracies. That way she won't be able to bring anything up at a later date that wasn't included in your conversations.
Even though a company may be hiring, they may be looking to cut back in other areas. Are the new roles being advertised the same or similar to your own?