Campbell Soup fires VP over 'garbage for poor people' rant in leaked audio

Campbell Soup Co. has dismissed an executive after a recording surfaced of him making racist remarks and calling the company's products "garbage for poor people."

The audio, submitted as evidence in a lawsuit by former employee Robert Garza, captures information security vice president Martin Bally making derogatory comments about Indian colleagues and criticizing the company's food during a meeting last November.

"We sell garbage for poor people. Who buys this? I almost never buy Campbell's anymore," Bally is heard saying in the recording. He also falsely suggested the company's soups contain "genetically modified meat" and "3D-printed chicken," and made disparaging remarks about Indian employees.

Garza, who worked at Campbell's Michigan office, said he reported Bally's conduct to a supervisor in January but was ignored and later fired on January 30. He is now suing the company, Bally and the supervisor, alleging a culture of racial discrimination and retaliation against whistleblowers.

A Campbell Soup spokesperson confirmed the voice in the recording was Bally's and described the comments as "vulgar, offensive and patently false." The company apologized and stated: "We are proud of our food, our people and our high-quality ingredients. All our products provide good nutrition at an affordable price." It clarified that its chicken soups use only USDA-approved, antibiotic-free traditional chicken, not "3D-printed" or lab-grown meat.

Bally had been with the company since January 2022.