Campbell’s Leaked Audio Spells ‘Mmm! Mmm! Trouble!’
By Thom Weidlich for PRCG | Haggerty LLC
When a recording leaked of a Campbell’s Co. executive spewing racist comments and disparaging his company’s products, the soup maker sprang into action and responded with force. It took the matter very seriously. But the episode may also suggest a culture that doesn’t encourage employees to warn about potential crises.
Robert Garza, a cybersecurity analyst Campbell’s fired in January, leaked the audio to a news outlet only last month. Garza taped a November 2024 meeting he had with Martin Bally, a Campbell’s VP of information technology. On the recording, Bally is heard making racist comments about the firm’s Indian workers and maligning its products. The company makes — according to what Bally is heard saying — processed food for “poor people” that includes “bioengineered meat” and “chicken that came from a 3D printer.”
The background to the story is that on Nov. 20 Garza sued Campbell’s, Bally and Garza’s manager alleging he was let go for complaining about Bally’s alleged comments. Garza, a Michigander, shared the recording with TV station Local 4 WDIV Detroit, which ran with it on Nov. 23. It got a lot of attention.
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