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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Maya Yang

Campbell’s Soup executive called its products food for ‘poor people’, lawsuit alleges

Campbell's soup cans on a shelf
Campbell’s soup cans at a store in Chicago, Illinois, on 2 June 2025. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

A Campbell’s Soup Company executive has been put on temporary leave after he allegedly referred to the firm’s offerings as “shit for fucking poor people” – a remark purportedly caught on an audio recording and attributed to him in a former employee’s wrongful termination lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed last Thursday in Wayne county circuit court in Michigan by Robert Garza, who had joined Campbell’s New Jersey headquarters remotely in September 2024 as a security analyst. Garza alleges he was fired in January after he raised concerns about comments made by Martin Bally, Campbell’s vice-president of information technology – including referring to one of the company’s ingredients as “bioengineered meat” while going off on a racist tirade.

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