diff --git a/release/tools/gce.conf b/release/tools/gce.conf
--- a/release/tools/gce.conf
+++ b/release/tools/gce.conf
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 
 	# Enable growfs on every boot, not only the first, as as instance's disk can
 	# be enlarged post-creation
-	sed -i -e '/KEYWORD: firstboot/d' /etc/rc.d/growfs
+	sed -i -e '/KEYWORD: firstboot/d' ${DESTDIR}/etc/rc.d/growfs
 
 	cat << EOF >> ${DESTDIR}/etc/rc.conf
 dumpdev="AUTO"