diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 59f25a95..43c5cedf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -32,9 +32,6 @@ env:
   RUSTFLAGS: "-D warnings"
   RUSTDOCFLAGS: "-D warnings"
   RUST_LOG: "info"
-  DEV_REPO_HELM_URL: https://repo.stackable.tech/repository/helm-dev
-  TEST_REPO_HELM_URL: https://repo.stackable.tech/repository/helm-test
-  STABLE_REPO_HELM_URL: https://repo.stackable.tech/repository/helm-stable
 
 jobs:
   # Identify unused dependencies
@@ -63,47 +60,41 @@ jobs:
       - uses: stackabletech/cargo-install-action@cargo-udeps
       - run: cargo udeps --workspace --all-targets
 
-  # This job evaluates the github environment to determine why this action is running and selects the appropriate
-  # target repository for published Helm charts based on this.
+  # This job evaluates the github environment to determine why this action is running and decides if
+  # Helm charts are published based on this.
   #
   # The following scenarios are identified:
-  #    - all pull requests land in the test repository:
+  #    - all pull requests land are published:
   #        condition: github.event_name == "pull_request"
-  #        repository: test
   #
-  #    - all tagged releases land in stable:
+  #    - all tagged releases are published:
   #         condition: github.event_name == 'push' & github.ref.startswith('refs/tags/')
-  #         repository: stable
   #
-  #    - all pushes to main (i.e. PR-merges) and all scheduled/manual workflow runs on main land in dev:
+  #    - all pushes to main (i.e. PR-merges) and all scheduled/manual workflow runs on main land are published:
   #         condition: ( github.event_name == 'push' | github.event_name == 'schedule' | github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' ) & github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
-  #         repository: dev
   #
   # Any other scenarios (e.g. when a branch is created/pushed) will cause the publish step to be skipped, most commonly this is expected to happen for the
   # branches that the GitHub merge queue feature uses internally for which the checks need to run, but we do not want artifacts to be published.
-  select_helm_repo:
-    name: Select target helm repository based on action trigger
+  check_helm_publish:
+    name: Decide if Helm charts are pushed to the helm repository based on action trigger
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     outputs:
-      helm_repository: ${{ steps.selecthelmrepo.outputs.helm_repo }}
+      skip_helm: ${{ steps.checkhelmpublish.outputs.skip_helm }}
     steps:
-      - id: selecthelmrepo
+      - id: checkhelmpublish
         env:
           TRIGGER: ${{ github.event_name }}
           GITHUB_REF: ${{ github.ref }}
         run: |
           if [[ "$TRIGGER" == "pull_request" ]]; then
-            echo "exporting test as target helm repo: ${{ env.TEST_REPO_HELM_URL }}"
-            echo "helm_repo=${{ env.TEST_REPO_HELM_URL }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "skip_helm=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           elif [[ ( "$TRIGGER" == "push" || "$TRIGGER" == "schedule" || "$TRIGGER" == "workflow_dispatch" ) && "$GITHUB_REF" == "refs/heads/main" ]]; then
-            echo "exporting dev as target helm repo: ${{ env.DEV_REPO_HELM_URL }}"
-            echo "helm_repo=${{ env.DEV_REPO_HELM_URL }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "skip_helm=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           elif [[ "$TRIGGER" == "push" && $GITHUB_REF == refs/tags/* ]]; then
-            echo "exporting stable as target helm repo: ${{ env.STABLE_REPO_HELM_URL }}"
-            echo "helm_repo=${{ env.STABLE_REPO_HELM_URL }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "skip_helm=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           else
             echo "Unknown trigger and ref combination encountered, skipping publish step: $TRIGGER $GITHUB_REF"
-            echo "helm_repo=skip" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "skip_helm=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           fi
 
   run_cargodeny:
@@ -317,7 +308,7 @@ jobs:
     name: Package Charts, Build Docker Image and publish them - ${{ matrix.runner }}
     needs:
       - tests_passed
-      - select_helm_repo
+      - check_helm_publish
     strategy:
       matrix:
         runner: ["ubuntu-latest", "ubicloud-standard-8-arm"]
@@ -326,13 +317,11 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       id-token: write
     env:
-      NEXUS_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.NEXUS_PASSWORD }}
-      HELM_REPO: ${{ needs.select_helm_repo.outputs.helm_repository }}
       OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.HARBOR_ROBOT_SDP_GITHUB_ACTION_BUILD_SECRET }}
       OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_USERNAME: "robot$sdp+github-action-build"
       OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_CHARTS_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.HARBOR_ROBOT_SDP_CHARTS_GITHUB_ACTION_BUILD_SECRET }}
       OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_CHARTS_USERNAME: "robot$sdp-charts+github-action-build"
-    if: needs.select_helm_repo.outputs.helm_repository != 'skip'
+    if: needs.check_helm_publish.outputs.skip_helm != 'true'
     outputs:
       IMAGE_TAG: ${{ steps.printtag.outputs.IMAGE_TAG }}
     steps:
@@ -379,9 +368,7 @@ jobs:
           PR_VERSION="${MANIFEST_VERSION}-pr${PR_NUMBER}"
           sed -i "s/version = \"${MANIFEST_VERSION}\"/version = \"${PR_VERSION}\"/" Cargo.toml
 
-      # Recreate charts and publish charts and docker image. The "-e" is needed as we want to override the
-      # default value in the makefile if called from this action, but not otherwise (i.e. when called locally).
-      # This is needed for the HELM_REPO variable.
+      # Recreate charts and publish charts and docker image.
       - name: Install cosign
         uses: sigstore/cosign-installer@d7d6bc7722e3daa8354c50bcb52f4837da5e9b6a # v3.8.1
       - name: Install syft
@@ -397,21 +384,21 @@ jobs:
             sudo wget https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/latest/download/yq_linux_arm64 -O /usr/bin/yq && sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/yq
           fi
 
-          make -e build
+          make build
       - name: Publish Docker image and Helm chart
         if: ${{ !github.event.pull_request.head.repo.fork }}
         run: |
           # We want to publish helmcharts only once as they have a common name, while still publishing both images with architecture specific tags
           if [ "$(uname -m)" = "x86_64" ]; then
-            make -e publish
+            make publish
           else
-            make -e docker-publish
+            make docker-publish
           fi
         # Output the name of the published image to the Job output for later use
       - id: printtag
         name: Output image name and tag
         if: ${{ !github.event.pull_request.head.repo.fork }}
-        run: echo "IMAGE_TAG=$(make -e print-docker-tag)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        run: echo "IMAGE_TAG=$(make print-docker-tag)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
   create_manifest_list:
     name: Build and publish manifest list
@@ -422,7 +409,6 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       id-token: write
     env:
-      NEXUS_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.NEXUS_PASSWORD }}
       OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.HARBOR_ROBOT_SDP_GITHUB_ACTION_BUILD_SECRET }}
       OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_USERNAME: "robot$sdp+github-action-build"
       OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_CHARTS_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.HARBOR_ROBOT_SDP_CHARTS_GITHUB_ACTION_BUILD_SECRET }}
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 43785d65..59021bc4 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -14,13 +14,10 @@ OPERATOR_NAME := kafka-operator
 VERSION := $(shell cargo metadata --format-version 1 | jq -r '.packages[] | select(.name=="stackable-${OPERATOR_NAME}") | .version')
 ARCH := $(shell uname -m | sed -e 's#x86_64#amd64#' | sed -e 's#aarch64#arm64#')
 
-DOCKER_REPO := docker.stackable.tech
-ORGANIZATION := stackable
 OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME := oci.stackable.tech
 OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_IMAGES := sdp
 OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_CHARTS := sdp-charts
 # This will be overwritten by an environmental variable if called from the github action
-HELM_REPO := https://repo.stackable.tech/repository/helm-dev
 HELM_CHART_NAME := ${OPERATOR_NAME}
 HELM_CHART_ARTIFACT := target/helm/${OPERATOR_NAME}-${VERSION}.tgz
 
@@ -34,35 +31,9 @@ render-docs:
 
 ## Docker related targets
 docker-build:
-	docker build --force-rm --build-arg VERSION=${VERSION} -t "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-${ARCH}" -f docker/Dockerfile .
-	docker tag "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-${ARCH}" "${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}/${OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_IMAGES}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-${ARCH}"
+	docker build --force-rm --build-arg VERSION=${VERSION} -t "${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}/${OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_IMAGES}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-${ARCH}" -f docker/Dockerfile .
 
 docker-publish:
-	# Push to Nexus
-	echo "${NEXUS_PASSWORD}" | docker login --username github --password-stdin "${DOCKER_REPO}"
-	DOCKER_OUTPUT=$$(docker push --all-tags "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}");\
-	# Obtain the digest of the pushed image from the output of `docker push`, because signing by tag is deprecated and will be removed from cosign in the future\
-	REPO_DIGEST_OF_IMAGE=$$(echo "$$DOCKER_OUTPUT" | awk '/^${VERSION}-${ARCH}: digest: sha256:[0-9a-f]{64} size: [0-9]+$$/ { print $$3 }');\
-	if [ -z "$$REPO_DIGEST_OF_IMAGE" ]; then\
-		echo 'Could not find repo digest for container image: ${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-${ARCH}';\
-		exit 1;\
-	fi;\
-	# This generates a signature and publishes it to the registry, next to the image\
-	# Uses the keyless signing flow with Github Actions as identity provider\
-	cosign sign -y "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}@$$REPO_DIGEST_OF_IMAGE";\
-	# Generate the SBOM for the operator image, this leverages the already generated SBOM for the operator binary by cargo-cyclonedx\
-	syft scan --output cyclonedx-json@1.5=sbom.json --select-catalogers "-cargo-auditable-binary-cataloger,+sbom-cataloger" --scope all-layers --source-name "${OPERATOR_NAME}" --source-version "${VERSION}-${ARCH}" "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}@$$REPO_DIGEST_OF_IMAGE";\
-	# Determine the PURL for the container image\
-	URLENCODED_REPO_DIGEST_OF_IMAGE=$$(echo "$$REPO_DIGEST_OF_IMAGE" | sed 's/:/%3A/g');\
-	PURL="pkg:oci/${OPERATOR_NAME}@$$URLENCODED_REPO_DIGEST_OF_IMAGE?arch=${ARCH}&repository_url=${DOCKER_REPO}%2F${ORGANIZATION}%2F${OPERATOR_NAME}";\
-	# Get metadata from the image\
-	IMAGE_DESCRIPTION=$$(docker inspect --format='{{.Config.Labels.description}}' "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-${ARCH}");\
-	IMAGE_NAME=$$(docker inspect --format='{{.Config.Labels.name}}' "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-${ARCH}");\
-	# Merge the SBOM with the metadata for the operator\
-	jq -s '{"metadata":{"component":{"description":"'"$$IMAGE_NAME. $$IMAGE_DESCRIPTION"'","supplier":{"name":"Stackable GmbH","url":["https://stackable.tech/"]},"author":"Stackable GmbH","purl":"'"$$PURL"'","publisher":"Stackable GmbH"}}} * .[0]' sbom.json > sbom.merged.json;\
-	# Attest the SBOM to the image\
-	cosign attest -y --predicate sbom.merged.json --type cyclonedx "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}@$$REPO_DIGEST_OF_IMAGE"
-
 	# Push to Harbor
 	# We need to use "value" here to prevent the variable from being recursively expanded by make (username contains a dollar sign, since it's a Harbor bot)
 	docker login --username '${value OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_USERNAME}' --password '${OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_PASSWORD}' '${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}'
@@ -91,21 +62,9 @@ docker-publish:
 
 # This assumes "${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}/${OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_IMAGES}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-amd64 and "${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}/${OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_IMAGES}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-arm64 are built and pushed
 docker-manifest-list-build:
-	docker manifest create "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}" --amend "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-amd64" --amend "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-arm64"
 	docker manifest create "${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}/${OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_IMAGES}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}" --amend "${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}/${OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_IMAGES}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-amd64" --amend "${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}/${OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_IMAGES}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}-arm64"
 
 docker-manifest-list-publish:
-	# Push to Nexus
-	echo "${NEXUS_PASSWORD}" | docker login --username github --password-stdin "${DOCKER_REPO}"
-	# `docker manifest push` directly returns the digest of the manifest list
-	# As it is an experimental feature, this might change in the future
-	# Further reading: https://docs.docker.com/reference/cli/docker/manifest/push/
-	DIGEST_NEXUS=$$(docker manifest push "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}");\
-	# Refer to image via its digest (oci.stackable.tech/sdp/airflow@sha256:0a1b2c...)\
-	# This generates a signature and publishes it to the registry, next to the image\
-	# Uses the keyless signing flow with Github Actions as identity provider\
-	cosign sign -y "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}@$$DIGEST_NEXUS"
-
 	# Push to Harbor
 	# We need to use "value" here to prevent the variable from being recursively expanded by make (username contains a dollar sign, since it's a Harbor bot)
 	docker login --username '${value OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_USERNAME}' --password '${OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_PASSWORD}' '${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}'
@@ -122,9 +81,6 @@ print-docker-tag:
 	@echo "${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}/${OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_IMAGES}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}"
 
 helm-publish:
-	# Push to Nexus
-	curl --fail -u "github:${NEXUS_PASSWORD}" --upload-file "${HELM_CHART_ARTIFACT}" "${HELM_REPO}/"
-
 	# Push to Harbor
 	# We need to use "value" here to prevent the variable from being recursively expanded by make (username contains a dollar sign, since it's a Harbor bot)
 	helm registry login --username '${value OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_CHARTS_USERNAME}' --password '${OCI_REGISTRY_SDP_CHARTS_PASSWORD}' '${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}'
@@ -170,7 +126,6 @@ chart-lint: compile-chart
 
 clean: chart-clean
 	cargo clean
-	docker rmi --force "${DOCKER_REPO}/${ORGANIZATION}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}"
 	docker rmi --force '${OCI_REGISTRY_HOSTNAME}/${OCI_REGISTRY_PROJECT_IMAGES}/${OPERATOR_NAME}:${VERSION}'
 
 regenerate-charts: chart-clean compile-chart