Campbell's Soup
A can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup Facebook/Campbell's

An executive from Campbell's Soup Company is under fire for his shocking remarks about the company's products, calling their soups 's**t for f***ing poor people' in an audio recording released by a former employee during the court hearing of his wrongful termination lawsuit.

Background on the Lawsuit

The former employee, Robert Garza, filed the lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court in Michigan on 20 November 2025. He joined the company as a security analyst at Campbell's New Jersey headquarters in September 2024.

Garza claimed that he was fired in January after raising concerns about the comments coming from the company's vice president and chief information security officer, Martin Bally, including a remark saying that one of the ingredients in the company is 'bioengineered meat.'

The lawsuit revealed that Garza interacted with Bally in November 2024 to discuss his salary. Instead, the meeting turned into an hour-long tirade in which Bally allegedly made racist remarks about the company's Indian staff, criticised the quality of their products, and admitted to reporting to work while under the influence of marijuana.

The former employee claimed that he recorded their meeting because he felt that something was not right.

Bally's Rants Against Campbell's Products

In the audio recording, the Campbell's executive was heard saying, 'We have s**t for f***king poor people.'

He went on to say, 'Who buys our s**t? I don't buy Campbell's products barely any more. It's not healthy now that I know what the f***'s in it ... bioengineered meat. I don't wanna eat a piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer.'

Bally also made degrading remarks about their Indian employees, stating: 'F***ing Indians don't know a f***ing thing ... Like they couldn't think for their f***ng selves.'

Garza claimed that he felt disgusted with Bally's remarks, but decided to keep the recording until January this year. When he reported Bally's behaviour to his supervisor, J.D. Aupperle, he was fired from the company within 20 days despite having no previous disciplinary record.

Speaking with WDIV, Garza's lawyer Zachary Runyan said that his client was fighting for other people's rights before he got fired.

The lawsuit claimed that he was served with retaliatory dismissal and accused the company of maintaining a racially hostile work environment.

Campbell's Denied the Allegations

The food company released a statement saying that they are investigating the allegations. Campbell's also confirmed that Bally has been placed on leave while a probe is ongoing.

'If accurate, the comments in the recording are unacceptable. They do not reflect our values and the culture of our company,' a representative from Campbell's said as reported by The Guardian.

In a separate statement shared by Newsweek, the company denied using artificial ingredients in their products.

'We use 100% real chicken in our soups," the company spokesperson reportedly said. "The chicken meat comes from long-trusted, [US Department of Agriculture] approved ... suppliers and meets our high quality standards. All of our soups are made with No Antibiotics Ever chicken meat. Any claims to the contrary are completely false,' the spokesperson said.

Florida Launches Investigation

Since the audio recording mentioned the use of lab-grown meat in soups sold by the company, Campbell's now faces a federal investigation from Florida, where bio-engineered meat is banned. In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Florida's Attorney General James Uthmeir said that the state's Consumer Protection division will launch an investigation and demand answers from the soup manufacturing company.

Bally remains silent about the audio recording and the allegations against him.

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