Campbell Soup Company is now battling a high-profile employment discrimination and retaliation lawsuit after former security analyst Robert Garza claimed he was fired for reporting offensive and racially charged remarks made by a senior executive.
The suit, Garza v. Campbell Soup Company, was filed November 20, 2025, in Wayne County Circuit Court and names both the company and supervisor J.D. Aupperle as defendants.
Garza’s allegations center on a secretly recorded meeting with Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer Martin Bally – an encounter he says revealed a toxic workplace culture entirely at odds with Campbell’s public values.
Inside the Recording at the Center of the Case
According to the lawsuit and media interviews, Garza met Bally at a restaurant in late 2024, expecting to discuss his salary.
Instead, he says he was subjected to an hour-plus tirade mocking Campbell products, customers, and employees – including racially offensive comments directed at Indian colleagues.
Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images.
Local 4 News aired portions of the recording.
A speaker identified as Bally is heard saying: "We have s**t for f***king poor people. Who buys our s**t? I don’t buy Campbell’s products barely anymore."
He also ranted about *“bioengineered meat”* and dismissed Indian coworkers with remarks like "F***ing Indians don’t know a f***ing thing."
Garza called the rant “pure disgust” and says the recording even captures Bally admitting to showing up at work after consuming marijuana edibles.
Retaliation Claims After Reporting the Incident
Garza kept the recording private for several weeks before reporting Bally’s conduct to supervisor Aupperle in January 2025.
His attorney says Garza believed he was protecting coworkers targeted in the remarks, PEOPLE reports.
Just 20 days later, on January 30, Garza was fired.
The lawsuit states he had no disciplinary history, had never been written up, and received no follow-up from HR after filing his complaint. The firing made job-hunting difficult, and Garza says it took nearly 10 months to find his next position.
The lawsuit accuses Campbell of maintaining a racially hostile environment and firing Garza “in retaliation for reporting discrimination based on race.”
Campbell acknowledged the seriousness of the claims, stating that “if the recording is legitimate, the comments are unacceptable and do not reflect our values.”
The company confirmed Bally is on temporary leave pending an internal investigation.
A spokesperson added that the alleged comments were “patently absurd” and emphasized that Bally, an IT executive, has “nothing to do with how we make our food.”
Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images.
What Comes Next in the Legal Battle
The case now enters the early litigation phase.
Campbell and Aupperle will formally respond to the complaint, followed by discovery, depositions, and court motions.
The full recording, HR documentation, personnel files, and internal emails are expected to play central roles.
Settlement talks are likely, given the sensitivity of the allegations.
If unresolved, the case could head to a jury, where the key questions will be whether Garza was fired for reporting discrimination and whether the executive’s recorded remarks contributed to a hostile workplace.