Campbell's Soup fires chief accused of calling products 'food for poor people'

Campbell’s has fired an executive accused of making racist remarks and labelling the company’s products “food for poor people”.

The brand, known worldwide for its soup, said on Wednesday that Martin Bally, a former VP in Campbell’s information technology department, was no longer with the company.

It comes after a former Campbell’s employee, Robert Garza, released an alleged year-old audio recording of him speaking with Mr Bally.

In the recording, which Campbell’s now says it believes to be the voice of Mr Bally, “vulgar, offensive and false” comments were allegedly made.

Mr Garza released the recording in connection with a wrongful termination lawsuit he filed against the company, alleging retaliation for raising complaints about Mr Bally.

According to the Associated Press, in the lawsuit, Mr Garza claimed he met with Mr Bally in November 2024 to discuss his salary.

During the meeting, which Garza allegedly recorded, Bally described Campbell’s as “highly process(ed) food” and said it was for “poor people”.

Mr Garza also claimed in the lawsuit that Mr Bally made racist remarks about Indian workers, according to reports.

A Campbell’s spokesperson said: “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.

“We’re thankful for the millions of people who buy and enjoy our products, and we’re honoured by the trust they put in us.

“We are proud of the food we make, the people who make it and the high-quality ingredients we use to provide consumers with good food at a good value.

“The comments heard on the recording about our food are not only inaccurate, they are patently absurd.”

Campbell’s also clarified: “The chicken meat in our soups comes from long-trusted, USDA-approved US 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.”