Lockheed Martin gets $107M in tax credits for Camden lab

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin will receive $107 million in tax credits to operate in Camden, the state Economic Development Authority said Monday.

The company will create laboratory facilities in two downtown buildings and move about 250 jobs from the company's headquarters in Moorestown, according to the EDA. The company also has a laboratory in Cherry Hill.

The company told the EDA that some of the jobs that will go to Camden are in danger of being eliminated due to increased competition in the defense industry, and that the subsidy will help save them. The facility will open next year, company spokesman Keith Little said.

"We are proud of our strong presence in New Jersey and look forward to contributing to the Camden community," he said.

Lockheed Martin becomes the third major company this year to put down roots in Camden with help from tax subsidies. In July, energy company Holtec International was awarded a $260 million tax break, and the 76ers plan to build a practice facility with the aid of $82 million in incentives.

The Lockheed project will provide $248,000 to the state over 35 years, a figure criticized by the New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning nonprofit think tank.

"Lockheed, which has posted $17 billion in profits in the last four years, will shift 250 jobs from one part of New Jersey to another, at the steep cost to taxpayers of $428,000 per job," the group said in a statement.

The EDA also on Monday awarded $7.45 million, 10-year incentive to DioGenix Inc., a Maryland-based molecular diagnostics company with plans to relocate to Camden. According to the EDA, that project will bring 71 jobs to the state.