Campbell’s Fired Executive Made Racist Rant, Disparaged Soup
(Bloomberg) — Campbell’s Co. A manager who allegedly criticized the company’s food and made racist remarks is no longer employed, the company said Wednesday.
Martin Bally, vice president of information technology for Campbell’s, said the company’s products were highly processed food for “poor people” and referred to his Indian co-workers as “idiots,” according to a lawsuit filed Nov. 20 in Michigan’s Wayne County Circuit Court by Robert Garza, a former employee of Campbell’s. The alleged comments were made during a meeting Garza said he recorded.
“Upon review, we believe that the voice in the recording is, in fact, Martin Bally,” Campbell’s said in a statement Wednesday. “The comments were rude, offensive and wrong and we apologize for the harm they caused.”
Bally was no longer employed by Campbell’s as of Tuesday, the company said. He added that the comments do not reflect Campbell’s values or culture and that such language will not be tolerated.
Garza claimed Bally told him Campbell’s soup contained “bioengineered meat” and that he didn’t want to eat “a piece of chicken that came out of a 3D printer.” Local 4 News in Detroit said it reported a recording of a conversation Garza had with Bally. Campbell’s said in a statement Tuesday that Bally has been placed on temporary leave while the company investigates the alleged comments.
Bally did not respond to requests for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Garza was hired by Campbell’s as a cybersecurity analyst in September 2024. Bally made these comments in November 2024 during a meeting to discuss Garza’s salary.
The lawsuit alleges that Garza was fired in retaliation for reporting Bally’s comments to his manager. The lawsuit names Bally and Campbell’s as defendants and alleges violations of the state’s civil rights law.
Campbell’s also released a fact sheet defending the quality of its ingredients, saying it does not use “3D-printed chicken, lab-grown chicken, or artificial or bioengineered meat of any kind in our soup.”
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