diff --git a/core/src/main/java/hudson/model/AbstractItem.java b/core/src/main/java/hudson/model/AbstractItem.java
index 465e83cc02..406d8cb552 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/hudson/model/AbstractItem.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/hudson/model/AbstractItem.java
@@ -274,6 +274,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractItem extends Actionable implements Item, HttpDelet
      * Does the real job of deleting the item.
      */
     protected void performDelete() throws IOException, InterruptedException {
+        getConfigFile().delete();
         Util.deleteRecursive(getRootDir());
     }