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US food company Campbell’s has dismissed an executive who was recorded criticising its food as made for “poor people” and disparaging its Indian employees.
Martin Bally was a vice-president in Campbell’s information technology department. An audio recording of his alleged comments was released by another former employee who claims Campbell’s fired him in retaliation for speaking up about Bally.
Campbell’s, known for its canned soups, made “highly processed food” for “poor people”, Bally told former employee Robert Garza, according to the lawsuit Garza filed in Michigan last week. Bally also claimed that Indian workers at Campbell’s were “idiots”, the suit alleged.
Garza said he had met Bally about a year ago to discuss his salary. There, Garza heard “several racist comments that shocked” him, the lawsuit said. Soon after reporting the comments to his manager, Garza was terminated.
Bally, whose LinkedIn profile described him as vice-president as well as chief information security officer at Campbell’s, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Campbell’s said it first learned of the litigation and heard segments of the audio recording last Thursday. Campbell’s believes that the voice on the recording is Bally’s.
“The comments were vulgar, offensive and false, and we apologise for the hurt they have caused. This behaviour does not reflect our values and the culture of our company, and we will not tolerate that kind of language under any circumstances,” Campbell’s said, adding that Bally left the company on Tuesday.
Campbell’s, established in 1869 in Camden, New Jersey, changed its name from Campbell Soup in 2024 after it diversified into snacks and other foods. Its revenue totalled $10.3bn in the latest fiscal year.
Like other packaged food companies, Campbell’s profits and sales volumes have declined as consumers pull back in the face of higher food prices. It is also contending with renewed scrutiny of food ingredients as the so-called Make America Healthy Again movement is embraced by the Trump administration.
In audio aired by a local Michigan television station, Bally is recorded saying he does not want to eat Campbell’s “bioengineered meat” or “a piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer”.
“Campbell’s does not use 3D-printed chicken, lab-grown chicken, or any form of artificial or bioengineered meat in our soups,” the company said.