diff --git a/awx/main/tests/live/tests/test_indirect_counting_external_queries.py b/awx/main/tests/live/tests/test_indirect_counting_external_queries.py
index 29e6cc7f3d..6dd445cab2 100644
--- a/awx/main/tests/live/tests/test_indirect_counting_external_queries.py
+++ b/awx/main/tests/live/tests/test_indirect_counting_external_queries.py
@@ -111,8 +111,8 @@ def vendor_collections_dir():
 
     yield base
 
-    # Cleanup
-    shutil.rmtree(VENDOR_COLLECTIONS_BASE, ignore_errors=True)
+    # Cleanup: only remove the collection we created, not the entire vendor root
+    shutil.rmtree(base, ignore_errors=True)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)