diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
index be36a9e3e4b3cc389f2836a0466944d29ee7f44f..21d54938b69897451d3b62f4f0ac688154943229 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_domain.c
@@ -6490,7 +6490,6 @@ qemuDomainObjBeginJobInternal(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
     else
         blocker = priv->job.asyncOwnerAPI;
 
-    ret = -1;
     if (errno == ETIMEDOUT) {
         if (blocker) {
             virReportError(VIR_ERR_OPERATION_TIMEOUT,