On the agenda for the Feb. 4 St. Paul City Council meeting sat what should have been a mundane vote to extend a grant contract for an unassuming tech company called ForwardEdge ASIC.
When the item was called, however, dozens of community members lined up to testify against the contract extension. Following over an hour of public comment, the council members honored their constituents, voting unanimously (6-0) to deny the contract extension.
The reason for the outrage? ForwardEdge ASIC is actually a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, the largest weapons manufacturer in the world. ForwardEdge ASIC was granted $1.3 million in forgivable loans in 2023 by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The money came from two DEED programs — the Job Creation Fund and Minnesota Investment Fund — and was administered through the city of St. Paul.
Why does DEED have millions for huge weapons manufacturers and only crumbs for small businesses and communities in need of support recovering from a racist, violent federal invasion?
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Lockheed Martin reported $75 billion in revenue and $5 billion in profits in 2025. In comparison, the FY 2026-2027 budget for Minnesota is $66 billion — less than Lockheed Martin’s revenue. Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet is reported to have received nearly $24 million in compensation in 2024 alone.
ForwardEdge ASIC, created by Lockheed Martin in 2023, designs microchips used in F-35 fighter jets, which are used to carry out crimes against humanity across the globe. In Palestine, F-35s have been used by Israel to bomb schools, refugee camps and hospitals, while ForwardEdge ASIC leadership proudly brags that their work makes “the brain of the F-35 smarter.”
Now is a crucial time to raise questions about the state’s funding priorities. In Operation Metro Surge, rougly 3,000 federal agents descended on the Twin Cities and unleashed a racist campaign of terror, which caused at least $200 million in economic damages.
Hundreds of immigrant businesses across the state like El Burrito Mercado and Boca Chica are still struggling to recover from the largest U.S. Department of Homeland Security operation in history. Somali business owners at Karmel Mall, at risk of losing their livelihoods, are demanding comprehensive relief. Yet Gov. Tim Walz, through the same agency that gave Lockheed Martin $1.3 million in free money, has proposed a mere $10 million in aid to small businesses across the entire state.
Economic recovery from Operation Metro Surge is only one of many ways the state and DEED could better spend taxpayer dollars in the short-term. Minneapolis Public Schools is facing a $50 million budget deficit. Hennepin County Medical Center is at risk of closing, leaving thousands without health care.
The stated purpose of these DEED grant funds is to bring economic activity to Minnesota and “to help add new workers and retain high-quality jobs on a statewide basis.” Despite the red carpet welcome to Minnesota, Lockheed Martin failed to meet its job creation quota as per the DEED contract, creating only 83 of 113 jobs, leaving the company crawling back to the city to ask for an extension on the grant period.
The Feb. 4 City Council vote was the result of months of community members organizing, researching and educating their neighbors about the monster lurking in their backyard. A city staffer estimated that ForwardEdge ASIC will be forced to pay back roughly $200,000 to the state. Though this dollar amount may seem negligible in the grand scheme of things, it serves as an affirmation of our collective power.
For decades, corporations have been operating above the law, siphoning our resources in order to kill people overseas. We proved that when community comes together, we can win out over billion-dollar companies. This sentiment rings true in council member Nelsie Yang’s comments just before she voted against the grant extension: “There’s nothing more powerful than the power of people coming together. There’s nobody coming here to save us but us.”
The state must commit to no more funding for weapons manufacturers. Money for human needs, not for war.
Simon Elliott is a Twin Cities antiwar activist and organizer. Jacqueline Zhang is a lifelong Minnesotan and community organizer in St Paul.
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