diff --git a/src/core/manager.c b/src/core/manager.c
index f8fb8a23e7..3ccb392f66 100644
--- a/src/core/manager.c
+++ b/src/core/manager.c
@@ -1735,8 +1735,11 @@ int manager_serialize(Manager *m, FILE *f, FDSet *fds) {
         fprintf(f, "taint-usr=%s\n", yes_no(m->taint_usr));
 
         dual_timestamp_serialize(f, "initrd-timestamp", &m->initrd_timestamp);
-        dual_timestamp_serialize(f, "startup-timestamp", &m->startup_timestamp);
-        dual_timestamp_serialize(f, "finish-timestamp", &m->finish_timestamp);
+
+        if (! in_initrd()) {
+                dual_timestamp_serialize(f, "startup-timestamp", &m->startup_timestamp);
+                dual_timestamp_serialize(f, "finish-timestamp", &m->finish_timestamp);
+        }
 
         fputc('\n', f);