diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index 7d43da42..57bcd08d 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 livecd-rootfs (2.472) UNRELEASED; urgency=medium
 
+  [ Michael Hudson-Doyle ]
   * Add snap.subiquity.started.service to subiquity.service's Requires=.
 
+  [ Steve Langasek ]
+  * Purge initramfs-tools from minimized images.
+
  -- Michael Hudson-Doyle <mwhudson@debian.org>  Mon, 09 Oct 2017 15:09:56 +1300
 
 livecd-rootfs (2.471) artful; urgency=medium
diff --git a/live-build/auto/build b/live-build/auto/build
index 41c21337..5e00e6cf 100755
--- a/live-build/auto/build
+++ b/live-build/auto/build
@@ -210,6 +210,20 @@ EOF
 
 	lb chroot "$@"
 
+	if [ "${SUBPROJECT:-}" = minimized ]; then
+		# force removal of initramfs-tools, which we assert is not
+		# required for any minimized images but is still pulled in by
+		# default
+		Chroot chroot "env DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \
+			apt-get -y purge initramfs-tools"
+		# temporary workaround: don't remove linux-base which
+		# may have no other reverse-depends currently
+		Chroot chroot "env DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \
+			apt-mark manual linux-base"
+		Chroot chroot "env DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \
+			apt-get -y --purge autoremove"
+	fi
+
 	if [ -f config/oem-config-preinstalled ]; then
 
 # This is cargo-culted almost verbatim (with some syntax changes for