diff --git a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/gen.go b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/gen.go
index ef4c8537f3e..176611de925 100644
--- a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/gen.go
+++ b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/gen.go
@@ -192,7 +192,6 @@ func autotmpname(n int) string {
 	// Start with a buffer big enough to hold a large n.
 	b := []byte(prefix + "      ")[:len(prefix)]
 	b = strconv.AppendInt(b, int64(n), 10)
-	_ = b
 	return types.InternString(b)
 }