The Campbell’s Company, best known for its soups, has now fired its Vice President of Information Technology, Martin Bally. The move comes just days after the company placed him on leave over an audio recording that surfaced in which he purportedly made disparaging comments about Campbell’s ingredients, poor people and Indian co-workers.
Statement on Bally’s firing
An updated statement on the company’s website says, “After a review, we believe the voice on the recording is in fact Martin Bally. The comments were vulgar, offensive and false, and we apologize for the hurt they have caused. This behavior does not reflect our values and the culture of our company, and we will not tolerate that kind of language under any circumstances. As of November 25, Mr. Bally is no longer employed by the company.”
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Lawsuit brought secret recording to light
Bally came under fire after a former co-worker, cybersecurity analyst Robert Garza, sued the company and Bally last week alleging they violated his civil rights and that he suffers from stress and and mental anguish because of racial discrimination and harassment related to the audio that he recorded at a company meeting in Camden, New Jersey in November 2024.
As Straight Arrow News reported earlier this week, Garza secretly recorded Martin Bally bashing the company, “We have s— for f—ing poor people,” Bally, allegedly said. “Who buys our s—? I don’t buy Campbell’s products barely anymore.”
He reportedly added, “Bioengineered meat — I don’t wanna eat a piece of chicken that came from a 3-D printer.” The Wall Street Journal reported Bally also made racist comments toward Indian co-workers, calling them “idiots” who cannot think for themselves.
Bally lives in the Detroit area, and Garza’s suit was filed in Wayne County, Michigan. Garza says he was fired weeks after complaining to a manager about Bally’s rant. The lawsuit contends the termination was in retaliation for his complaining about Bally.
Campbell’s response to recording timeline
However, Campbell’s is now refuting that allegation, saying it only learned of Bally’s comments last week. It said in the statement, “The company learned of the litigation and first heard segments of the audio on November 20, 2025. Neither Mr. Garza nor his lawyer ever notified us of the existence of an audio recording.”
Garza is seeking unspecified damages.
Meanwhile, Campbell’s is again defending itself over its ingredients in its soup that Bally referred to as “bioengineered meat.” In its message announcing Bally’s firing, Campbell’s concluded by saying “The chicken meat in our soups comes from long-trusted, USDA approved U.S. suppliers and meets our high quality standards. All our soups are made with No Antibiotics Ever chicken meat. Any claims to the contrary are completely false.”
