Job cuts at Ameriprise Financial Inc.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Ameriprise Financial Inc. says it plans to lay off 300 of its Minneapolis employees.

Tuesday's announcement comes about a week before the financial advice company is scheduled to release its fourth quarter earnings.

The cuts are part of a larger restructuring, but a spokesman for the Minneapolis-based company wouldn't say how many more people companywide are affected.

Ameriprise spokesman Benjamin Pratt says, "The market conditions were weak in 2008 and got significantly weaker in the fourth quarter."

Laid-off employees will be notified in the next few days.

The Minneapolis Downtown Council says Ameriprise is the third-largest employer in downtown Minneapolis after Target Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co.