diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/generic/setup.sh b/pkgs/stdenv/generic/setup.sh
index 344906eb34fa..4be15d11356d 100644
--- a/pkgs/stdenv/generic/setup.sh
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/generic/setup.sh
@@ -1260,7 +1260,7 @@ _defaultUnpack() {
         # We can't preserve hardlinks because they may have been
         # introduced by store optimization, which might break things
         # in the build.
-        cp -r --preserve=mode,timestamps --reflink=auto -- "$fn" "$destination"
+        cp -r --preserve=timestamps --reflink=auto -- "$fn" "$destination"
 
     else