diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/numexpr/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/numexpr/default.nix
index 614b9921f4ab..775d279b3177 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/numexpr/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/numexpr/default.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
 
   # Remove existing site.cfg, use the one we built for numpy.
   preBuild = ''
-    rm site.cfg
     ln -s ${numpy.cfg} site.cfg
   '';