diff --git a/base/automake/automake.conf b/base/automake/automake.conf
index 45aaae21d..71d3dba94 100644
--- a/base/automake/automake.conf
+++ b/base/automake/automake.conf
@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@
 
 automake_symlink() {
 	local v=$( echo $ver | cut -d'.' -f'1-2' )
+
+	# strangely ln -n is not working in this case
+	rm -f $oot$datadir/automake
 	ln -snf automake-$v $root$datadir/automake
 }
+
 hook_add postmake 5 "automake_symlink"