MONROE, Mich. – Campbell’s has placed a senior executive on leave and launched an internal investigation after a former employee told Local 4 that he was fired for sounding the alarm about a profanity-laced rant.
“We think they should’ve had this approach when Robert first reported it,” said Zachary Runyan, Robert Garza’s attorney, said. “As far as we can tell, they ignored Robert’s complaint and instead terminated him… It’s just a little too little too late at this point.”
The secret recording — now widely circulated online — includes a voice allegedly belonging to Martin Bally, a Campbell’s vice president and chief information security officer.
“We have s--t for f**king poor people,” part of the recording said. “Who buys our s--t? I don’t buy Campbell’s products barely anymore. It’s not healthy now that I know what the f---‘s in it. Bioengineered meat -- I don’t wanna eat a piece of chicken that came from a 3-D printer.”
Robert Garza, a former IT analyst who worked remotely for Campbell’s headquarters in New Jersey, told Local 4 he met with Bally in person to discuss his salary. That meeting, he said, turned into over an hour of startling comments — many of which he recorded.
“F---ing Indians don’t know a f---ing thing,” the recording said. “Like they couldn’t think for their f---ing selves,” it said in part.
Garza, of Monroe, first spoke publicly with Local 4 last week. Garza says he initially reported what he heard to his direct supervisor — also named in the lawsuit — in January. Twenty days later, he says, he was fired without warning.
“They have a motto: ‘We treat you like family here at Campbell‘s — come work for us. We treat our employees like family.’ That’s not the case,” Garza said.
“He had never had any disciplinary action; they had never written him up for work performance,” Runyan said.
The lawsuit claims Garza was fired Jan. 30, 2025, in retaliation for raising concerns about Bally’s behavior, and accuses the company of maintaining a racially hostile work environment.
Garza said he received no follow-up from Human Resources or Campbell’s. He said it took him 10 months to find another job -- and he calls the way the company handled everything “simply terrible.”
In more snippets from the recording, you can allegedly hear Bally telling Garza:
Recording: “JD says you’re doing good.”
Recording: “I know you’re smart. Be a little patient. I’m telling you, Campbell’s is a good f***ng place. They take care of their f***ing people.”
Recording: “Martin, I need to fix… myself. I need I need hopefully I can walk out of here tonight with some type of comfort…
Recording: the other piece is - don’t wait for s--t. You’re just gonna waste your life away. If you’re airing for a date in the future, that things are gonna get better, don’t do that to yourself. Honestly.
“I don’t know if [Garza] loves all the attention he’s getting, but at least he’s finally feeling like people are finally hearing his story — which is part of what he wanted,” said Runyan.
Campbell’s issued multiple statements to Local 4 defending its products.
“We are proud of the food we make, the people who make it, and the high-quality ingredients we use. The comments heard on the recording about our food are not only inaccurate – they are patently absurd. We use 100% real chicken in our soups. The chicken meat comes from long-trusted, USDA-approved U.S. suppliers and meets our high quality standards. All of our soups are made with No Antibiotics Ever chicken meat. Any claims to the contrary are completely false.”
Campbell Soup Company
Local 4 asked Campbell’s directly why Garza was allegedly fired and why Bally is only now on leave and was not placed on leave when Garza allegedly complained.
Campbell’s is now clapping back, saying Garza was fired “for good reason.”
“We do not comment on the specifics of personnel matters but can share that Mr. Garza’s employment was terminated for good reason. He was a Campbell’s employee for less than 5 months. The company learned of the litigation and first heard segments of the audio on November 20, 2025. Neither Mr. Garza nor his lawyer ever shared previously that a recording even existed.”
Campbell Soup Company