Campbell’s has fired an executive accused of making racist comments and mocking its products and customers, the company announced on Wednesday.
The termination follows a lawsuit filed in Michigan by former employee Robert Garza against Campbell’s, the company’s then-vice president of information technology Martin Bally and another manager.
The complaint alleges retaliation and a hostile work environment, citing a November 2024 meeting between Bally and Garza to discuss salary, according to the lawsuit.
Garza allegedly recorded the conversation, and the audio — obtained by NBC News — is more than 90 minutes long.
During the interaction, the lawsuit alleges that Bally described Campbell’s as “highly process(ed) food” and said it was for “poor people.” He also allegedly made racist remarks about Indian workers, calling them “idiots.”
“After a review, we believe the voice on the recording is in fact Martin Bally,” Campbell’s said Wednesday. “The comments were vulgar, offensive and false, and we apologize for the hurt they have caused.”
The company said it does not tolerate the language used in the audio recording and the behavior “does not reflect” its values.
Campbell’s said it learned of the litigation and first heard segments of the audio on Nov. 20.
Bally’s termination was effective Tuesday, the company said.
According to the lawsuit, Garza told his manager, J.D. Aupperle — who is also named as a defendant, about Bally’s behavior in January 2025 and wanted to report the comments to the human resources department. He was not encouraged to report the comments, the lawsuit claims, and was then “abruptly terminated from employment” later that month.
“This situation has been very hard on Robert,” Garza’s attorney, Zachary Runyan, said in a statement to NBC News on Tuesday. “He thought Campbell’s would be thankful that he reported Martin’s behavior, but instead he was abruptly fired.”
Garza is seeking monetary damages from the company.
Bally and Aupperle did not immediately return requests for comment on Wednesday.
Campbell’s said it is “proud of the food we make” and “the comments heard on the recording about our food are not only inaccurate — they are patently absurd.”
