VP in U.S. alleged to have disparaged company's products, made racist remarks in meeting
A former cybersecurity analyst is suing Campbell Soup Company, alleging that a senior executive made derogatory remarks about the company's products and Indian employees during a recorded meeting — and that he was subsequently terminated in retaliation for reporting the misconduct.
Robert Garza filed the employment discrimination and retaliation lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court. According to reporting from CBS, Garza was hired by Campbell's as a cybersecurity analyst in September 2024 and claims that Martin Bally, a vice president and chief information security officer at the company, made the offensive comments during a November 2024 meeting that was supposed to focus on Garza’s compensation.
The secretly recorded conversation has become central to the case. As reported by Newsweek, the recording captured what Garza described as an extended tirade in which the executive disparaged the company's products, its customer base, and colleagues from India.
In the recording, a speaker identified as Bally allegedly said, "We have s**t for f**king poor people. Who buys our s**t? I don't buy Campbell's products barely anymore. It's not healthy now that I know what the f's in it."
He also allegedly referenced "bioengineered meat," saying, "I don’t wanna eat a piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer,” said Newsweek.
The speaker also allegedly made explicitly derogatory remarks about Indian employees, in the recording that lasted over an hour and 15 minutes.
In Canada, an employee who secretly records conversations at work may have to defend their actions, and it could cost them their job, one expert told Canadian HR Reporter.
Termination and retaliation claims
According to Newsweek, Garza kept the recording confidential for several weeks before sharing it with his direct supervisor, J.D. Aupperle, in January 2025.
Garza was "abruptly terminated from employment" on January 30, 2025—roughly 20 days after making his complaint. The outlet noted that Garza "had never had any disciplinary action" and "had not been written up for performance issues" prior to his termination.
According to Newsweek, Garza also "received no follow-up from Human Resources after submitting his complaint" and it took him nearly a year to find another position.
The lawsuit also accuses both Campbell Soup Company and Aupperle of retaliation and maintaining a racially hostile workplace environment.
Bally has worked at Campbell's for four years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Campbell's response to allegations
Campbell Soup Company has acknowledged the gravity of the allegations while maintaining distance from the recorded remarks. In a statement to CBS, the company said: "If the comments were in fact made, they are unacceptable."
The company also emphasized that Bally is "temporarily on leave while the company conducts an investigation."
The company's statement to CBS addressed the content of the recording directly, noting that the comments about their food are "not only inaccurate — they are patently absurd."
According to both media outlets, Campbell's highlighted that the executive in question "works in IT and has nothing to do with how we make our food."
The company further stressed its commitment to quality, with a spokesperson telling Newsweek, "We are proud of the food we make, the people who make it and the high-quality ingredients we use."
