CAMDEN (dpa-AFX) - The Campbell's Company (CPB)'s product Campbell's Soup has placed one of its senior executives, Martin Bally, on temporary leave after a former employee filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit alleging he was recorded belittling the company's products and making racist comments.
The suit was filed by Robert Garza, a security analyst who joined the company remotely in September 2024. He claims Bally derailed a routine meeting about his pay into an hour of offensive remarks, including calling Campbell's products 'shit for f***ing poor people' and describing an ingredient as 'bioengineered meat.' Garza says Bally also made racist comments about Indian employees and admitted he sometimes worked while high on marijuana edibles.
Garza told reporters he sensed the meeting was going off the rails, so he began recording. A Michigan outlet later reviewed the audio, where a voice can be heard dismissing Campbell's food quality and ridiculing customers. Garza reported the comments internally in January, but says he was fired three weeks later without prior discipline. His lawsuit accuses the company of retaliation and maintaining a racially hostile work environment.
Campbell's says it is investigating the claims and has placed Bally on leave. The company said the comments, if real, do not reflect its values and rejected the claim that it uses 'bioengineered meat,' stressing that its soups use USDA-approved real chicken with no antibiotics.
Bally has not commented. The lawsuit names Bally, Garza's supervisor, and the company. It draws comparisons to past corporate scandals where executives insulted their own products, such as Ratner Group's infamous 'total crap' remark in 1991.
Tuesday, CPB closed at $30.42, down 0.62 percent, and is now trading after hours at $30.43, up 0.03 percent on the NasdaqGS.
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