diff --git a/builtin/merge.c b/builtin/merge.c
index 068a83b32..3b0f8f96d 100644
--- a/builtin/merge.c
+++ b/builtin/merge.c
@@ -684,10 +684,6 @@ static int try_merge_strategy(const char *strategy, struct commit_list *common,
 			o.subtree_shift = "";
 
 		o.renormalize = option_renormalize;
-		if (verbosity < 0)
-			o.verbosity = verbosity;
-		else if (verbosity > 0)
-			o.verbosity += verbosity;
 		o.show_rename_progress =
 			show_progress == -1 ? isatty(2) : show_progress;