Financial report context:
american tower corporation and subsidiaries notes to consolidated financial statements 2014 ( continued ) to purchase 3924 and 911 shares , respectively . in october 2005 , in connection with the exercise by mr . gearon of his right to require the company to purchase his interest in atc south america , these options vested in full and were exercised . upon exercise of these options , the holders received 4428 shares of atc south america , net of 1596 shares retained by the company to satisfy employee tax withholding obligations . the 1596 shares retained by the company were treated as a repurchase of a minority interest in accordance with sfas no . 141 . as a result , the company recorded a purchase price allocation adjustment of $ 5.6 million as an increase to intangible assets and a corresponding increase in minority interest as of the date of acquisition . the holders had the right to require the company to purchase their shares of atc south america at their then fair market value six months and one day following their issuance . in april 2006 , this repurchase right was exercised , and the company paid these holders an aggregate of $ 18.9 million in cash , which was the fair market value of their interests on the date of exercise of their repurchase right , as determined by the company 2019s board of directors with the assistance of an independent financial advisor . 12 . impairments , net loss on sale of long-lived assets , restructuring and merger related expense the significant components reflected in impairments , net loss on sale of long-lived assets , restructuring and merger related expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations include the following : impairments and net loss on sale of long-lived assets 2014during the years ended december 31 , 2006 , 2005 and 2004 , the company recorded impairments and net loss on sale of long-lived assets ( primarily related to its rental and management segment ) of $ 3.0 million , $ 19.1 million and $ 22.3 million , respectively . 2022 non-core asset impairment charges 2014during the years ended december 31 , 2006 and 2005 respectively , the company recorded net losses associated with the sales of certain non-core towers and other assets , as well as impairment charges to write-down certain assets to net realizable value after an indicator of potential impairment had been identified . as a result , the company recorded net losses and impairments of approximately $ 2.0 million , $ 16.8 million and $ 17.7 million for the years ended december 31 , 2006 , 2005 and 2004 , respectively . the net loss for the year ended december 31 , 2006 is comprised net losses from asset sales and other impairments of $ 7.0 million , offset by gains from asset sales of $ 5.1 million . 2022 construction-in-progress impairment charges 2014for the years ended december 31 , 2006 , 2005 and 2004 , the company wrote-off approximately $ 1.0 million , $ 2.3 million and $ 4.6 million , respectively , of construction-in-progress costs , primarily associated with sites that it no longer planned to build . restructuring expense 2014the following table displays activity with respect to the accrued restructuring liability for the years ended december 31 , 2004 , 2005 and 2006 ( in thousands ) : liability as of january 1 , expense payments liability december 31 , expense payments liability december 31 , expense payments liability december 31 .

Financial table:
liability as of january 1 2004: employee separations; 2004 expense: $ 2239; 2004 cash payments: $ 823; liability as of december 31 2004: $ -2397 ( 2397 ); 2005 expense: $ 665; 2005 cash payments: $ 84; liability as of december 31 2005: $ -448 ( 448 ); 2006 expense: $ 301; 2006 cash payments: $ -267 ( 267 ); liability as of december 31 2006: $ -34 ( 34 ); column_11: $ 0
liability as of january 1 2004: lease terminations and other facility closing costs; 2004 expense: 1450; 2004 cash payments: -131 ( 131 ); liability as of december 31 2004: -888 ( 888 ); 2005 expense: 431; 2005 cash payments: 12; liability as of december 31 2005: -325 ( 325 ); 2006 expense: 118; 2006 cash payments: -10 ( 10 ); liability as of december 31 2006: -108 ( 108 ); column_11: 0
liability as of january 1 2004: total; 2004 expense: $ 3689; 2004 cash payments: $ 692; liability as of december 31 2004: $ -3285 ( 3285 ); 2005 expense: $ 1096; 2005 cash payments: $ 96; liability as of december 31 2005: $ -773 ( 773 ); 2006 expense: $ 419; 2006 cash payments: $ -277 ( 277 ); liability as of december 31 2006: $ -142 ( 142 ); column_11: $ 0

Additional report context:
the accrued restructuring liability is reflected in accounts payable and accrued expenses in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of december 31 , 2005 . during the year ended december 31 , 2006 , the company .

Question: in 2004 what was the percent of the change in the employee liability for employee separations
Answer: -70.3%