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The basics:

• Campbell’s fires VP Martin Bally after alleged recording captured offensive remarks
• Comments, called ‘vulgar, offensive and false,’ prompted internal review
• Lawsuit claims former Campbell’s fired employee for reporting Bally’s behavior
• Company defends the quality of its products, denounced the statements

The Campbell’s Co. fired an executive allegedly caught on tape making derogatory comments about the company’s products, customers and employees.

In a Nov. 26 statement, the Camden-based soup and snacks giant said it terminated vice president of information technology Martin Bally the prior day.

The announcement came less than 24 hours after the company put Bally on leave while it conducted an internal investigation into the matter.

“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,” Campbell’s said. “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.”

Lawsuit claims

The termination comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed in Michigan by former cybersecurity analyst Robert Garza. That case claimed the company fired Garza for reporting his former manager’s behavior.

The suit accuses Bally of going off on an expletive-filled rant during a secretly recorded meeting in November 2024 to discuss Garza’s job performance, a local NBC affiliate reported.

According to the suit, Bally allegedly stated Campbell’s makes products with highly processed food for “poor people.” He also said the products consist of “bioengineered meat” that “came from a 3D printer.” Bally also insulted the intelligence of his Indian colleagues and said he liked to come to work high on marijuana edibles, the complaint alleges.

When Garza informed his manager of what allegedly happened, the supervisor supposedly did not encourage him to report the incident to human resources. A few weeks later, the company “abruptly terminated” Garza, the complaint says.

‘Patently absurd’

In its latest statement, Campbell’s said it “learned of the litigation and first heard segments of the audio on Nov. 20, 2025.” Additionally it said that neither Garza nor his lawyer “ever notified us of the existence of an audio recording.”

Campbell’s also described the comments about its food as “inaccurate” and “patently absurd.”

“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,” the company said.

“We’re thankful for the millions of people who buy and enjoy our products and we’re honored 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,” Campbell’s said.

Removing artificial colors

Campbell’s lineup features four $1 billion banners: Campbell’s, Goldfish, Pepperidge Farm and Rao’s. Other brands within its fold include Late July, Chunky, Cape Cod, Kettle Brand, Pace, Pacific Foods, Prego, Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps, Snyder’s of Hanover and Swanson.

In September, Campbell’s became the latest CPG company to unveil plans to fully remove artificial colors from food and beverage products by August 2026. The company noted that the vast majority of items it sells already use natural dyes.

The lawsuit against Campbell’s, Bally and another supervisor alleges a hostile work environment and civil rights violations. Garza seeks damages for emotional, economic and non-economic damages, as well as attorney fees and costs. Garza worked remotely in Michigan.

In a statement to NBC News, Garza’s attorney, Zachary Runyan, said, “This situation has been very hard on Robert. He thought Campbell’s would be thankful that he reported Martin’s behavior, but instead he was abruptly fired.”

Attorney information for Bally was not immediately available.