A senior executive at the Campbell’s Company has been placed on leave after a lawsuit filed by a former employee alleges he disparaged the company’s products and made offensive remarks about “poor people” and Indian co-workers.
Martin Bally, a vice president and chief information security officer at the food giant, said during a meeting that Campbell’s products were “highly process food” for “poor people,” and that Indian employees were “idiots” whom he disliked working with, according to the employment discrimination complaint filed by Robert Garza, a former cybersecurity analyst for the company. Garza said in the lawsuit that he was fired after telling a supervisor about the comments and planned to report them to the human resources department.
Garza’s attorney provided The Washington Post with a lengthy recording of an alleged conversation in which Bally can be heard complaining about an incident during which employees couldn’t be reached in a technical emergency. “F—ing Indians,” he said. “They couldn’t think for their f—ing selves.” He also can be heard suggesting that the company’s soups possibly used “bioengineered meat.”
“I don’t buy … Campbell’s products anymore,” the person Garza alleges is Bally says in the recording. “I don’t want to eat a … piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer.”
Campbell’s said in an emailed statement that Bally had been placed on leave temporarily while the company carried out an investigation, adding that any claims that the company did not use “real chicken” in its products were false. If the comments attributed to Bally “were in fact made, they are unacceptable. They do not reflect our values and the culture of our company,” the statement added.
Garza, who worked remotely for the New Jersey-based company, filed the employment discrimination suit Thursday in Michigan’s Wayne County Circuit Court, alleging that his contract was “abruptly terminated” after he raised concerns about Bally’s remarks, the lawsuit says.
The suit names the Campbell Soup Company, Bally and Garza’s supervisor, J.D. Aupperle, as defendants. The Post was unable to reach Aupperle for comment.
Garza said he met with Bally at a restaurant in November 2024, expecting to discuss his salary. Instead, he heard a lengthy tirade from Bally, which he secretly recorded because he had an “instinct that something wasn’t right with Martin,” Garza told local media outlet Local 4. In Michigan, it is legal for someone to record a conversation in which they are a participant without the other person’s permission.
According to the suit, Garza said he reported his concerns to Aupperle on Jan. 10, but his manager did not encourage Garza to report the incident to human resources or direct him on how to proceed. On Jan. 30, Garza’s employment was “abruptly terminated,” the suit claims, alleging it was in retaliation for his complaints about Bally’s behavior. He worked at the company almost four years, according to his LinkedIn profile. In the complaint, Garza said he suffered stress, mental anguish and economic damage. He is seeking attorney’s fees and unspecified damages.
The lawsuit also claims that Bally told Garza that he “often appeared at work high from marijuana edibles.” In the recording, Bally seemed to speak about how he used to take edibles to sleep because the lack of sleep was affecting his job performance.
Bally has worked as vice president and chief information security officer at the company since January 2022 and has almost 25 years experience in the IT industry, according to his LinkedIn profile. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Garza’s attorney, Zachary Runyan, emailed a joint statement with his client: Garza “thought Campbell’s would be thankful that he reported Martin’s behavior, but instead he was abruptly fired,” it read. “We look forward to obtaining justice for Robert.”
After news of the lawsuit emerged, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said the state bans lab-grown meat and its consumer protection division would start an investigation and “demand answers from Campbell’s,” in a post on X.
The company, which changed its name from the Campbell Soup Company to the Campbell’s Company last November to better reflect its range of brands, said it was proud of the food it makes and the comments about the products are “completely inaccurate and absurd.”
“We use 100% real chicken in our soups,” the statement said, adding that the chicken comes from “USDA approved U.S. suppliers” and “claims to the contrary are completely false.”
“The person alleged to be speaking on the recording works in IT and has nothing to do with how we make our food,” the company added.
The company, founded in 1869 and renowned for its red and white branded soups, made $103 billion in net sales in the most recent fiscal year and employs 137,000 people across North America, according to its website. Its meals and beverage division includes brands like the Rao’s Homemade pasta sauces, Prego and SpaghettiOs, while the snack division contains household names such as Goldfish and Kettle.
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