Earlier this week, a Shenzhen-listed construction company said a media report on its operations was “untrue.” The real situation, it said, was much worse.

A WeChat subscription account specializing in workers’ rights said Sino Great Wall owed a total of 56 million yuan ($8.14 million) in backpay to its staff.

The company denied the report on Tuesday, and clarified that due to liquidity problems, the unpaid salaries in fact total more than 81 million yuan, including those owed to staff from subsidiaries.

Sino Great Wall has started negotiations with staff to settle related issues, an official company statement said.

By Thursday at market close, the company’s stock price has plunged over 30% since the media report was published.

It is unclear why Sino Great Wall chose to take the unusual voluntary step of admitting it owed more than was publicly known.

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