diff --git a/lib/internal/child_process.js b/lib/internal/child_process.js
index 49edaba5b558e9..816ebe17fcf11b 100644
--- a/lib/internal/child_process.js
+++ b/lib/internal/child_process.js
@@ -557,7 +557,6 @@ class Control extends EventEmitter {
   unrefCounted() {
     if (--this.#refs === 0 && !this.#refExplicitlySet) {
       this.#channel.unref();
-      this.emit('unref');
     }
   }