Trouble has been brewing in the beehive in recent months, as Honestbee was reported to owe creditors S$247 million as of Aug. 2, 2019.

And it has been revealed that the company also owes more than 200 of its former employees S$987,995.46 in unpaid salaries.

Former employees filed claims for non-payment

A total of 44 of the embattled company's former employees have filed claims with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) over their unpaid salaries in July and August 2019, according to The Straits Times.

Five of the 44 were from Honestbee's physical store Habitat, while the remaining 39 worked at Honestbee.

Honestbee's chief executive Ong Lay Ann had stated in court that the company was in the midst of paying its 217 former employees.

A spokesman from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) responded to queries that some of the ex-employees have concluded their claims with an agreed payment schedule, and that TADM was monitoring the situation closely.

Reduced headcount by two-thirds to cut costs

According to ST, Honestbee currently has 190 employees in Singapore, down from its peak of 523 full-time employees and 77 part-timers earlier in January this year.

The company reportedly had 350 employees in Singapore in early August.

Chairman, key investor and former CEO Brian Koo resigns

Brian Koo, one of the earliest investors of Honestbee and the chairman of the company, had resigned on Sep. 12, according to Ong.

Koo, whose family controls South Korean tech giant LG, was also the interim CEO of Honestbee from May 2 until Ong was appointed on July 15, 2019.

Koo and his associates are owed around S$258 million, which consists of nearly 90 percent of the current debt of the company, which was estimated at around S$286 million, according to Ong, on Sep. 20.

In Ong's sworn statement in court, he stated that Koo had intended to step down from the management of the company and board after hiring a restructuring specialist for Honestbee, as his role was more of an investor.

Read more about Honestbee's situation:

Top image via Honestbee/FB, HonestbeePH/FB