diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/validation/validation.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/validation/validation.go
index 06e8605704e..3fccd18071e 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/validation/validation.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/validation/validation.go
@@ -462,7 +462,6 @@ func isAllowedFlag(flagName string) bool {
 		kubeadmcmdoptions.NodeCRISocket,
 		kubeadmcmdoptions.KubeconfigDir,
 		kubeadmcmdoptions.UploadCerts,
-		kubeadmcmdoptions.Kustomize,
 		kubeadmcmdoptions.Patches,
 		"print-join-command", "rootfs", "v")
 	if knownFlags.Has(flagName) {
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/init.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/init.go
index 591f662e2cc..d67b1b84e78 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/init.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/init.go
@@ -102,7 +102,6 @@ type initOptions struct {
 	externalClusterCfg      *kubeadmapiv1beta2.ClusterConfiguration
 	uploadCerts             bool
 	skipCertificateKeyPrint bool
-	kustomizeDir            string
 	patchesDir              string
 }
 
@@ -125,7 +124,6 @@ type initData struct {
 	outputWriter            io.Writer
 	uploadCerts             bool
 	skipCertificateKeyPrint bool
-	kustomizeDir            string
 	patchesDir              string
 }
 
@@ -282,7 +280,6 @@ func AddInitOtherFlags(flagSet *flag.FlagSet, initOptions *initOptions) {
 		&initOptions.skipCertificateKeyPrint, options.SkipCertificateKeyPrint, initOptions.skipCertificateKeyPrint,
 		"Don't print the key used to encrypt the control-plane certificates.",
 	)
-	options.AddKustomizePodsFlag(flagSet, &initOptions.kustomizeDir)
 	options.AddPatchesFlag(flagSet, &initOptions.patchesDir)
 }
 
@@ -419,7 +416,6 @@ func newInitData(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string, options *initOptions, out io
 		outputWriter:            out,
 		uploadCerts:             options.uploadCerts,
 		skipCertificateKeyPrint: options.skipCertificateKeyPrint,
-		kustomizeDir:            options.kustomizeDir,
 		patchesDir:              options.patchesDir,
 	}, nil
 }
@@ -553,11 +549,6 @@ func (d *initData) Tokens() []string {
 	return tokens
 }
 
-// KustomizeDir returns the folder where kustomize patches for static pod manifest are stored
-func (d *initData) KustomizeDir() string {
-	return d.kustomizeDir
-}
-
 // PatchesDir returns the folder where patches for components are stored
 func (d *initData) PatchesDir() string {
 	return d.patchesDir
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/join.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/join.go
index 8487bd5aba4..aaedd6c471c 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/join.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/join.go
@@ -129,7 +129,6 @@ type joinOptions struct {
 	ignorePreflightErrors []string
 	externalcfg           *kubeadmapiv1beta2.JoinConfiguration
 	joinControlPlane      *kubeadmapiv1beta2.JoinControlPlane
-	kustomizeDir          string
 	patchesDir            string
 }
 
@@ -145,7 +144,6 @@ type joinData struct {
 	clientSet             *clientset.Clientset
 	ignorePreflightErrors sets.String
 	outputWriter          io.Writer
-	kustomizeDir          string
 	patchesDir            string
 }
 
@@ -287,7 +285,6 @@ func addJoinOtherFlags(flagSet *flag.FlagSet, joinOptions *joinOptions) {
 		&joinOptions.controlPlane, options.ControlPlane, joinOptions.controlPlane,
 		"Create a new control plane instance on this node",
 	)
-	options.AddKustomizePodsFlag(flagSet, &joinOptions.kustomizeDir)
 	options.AddPatchesFlag(flagSet, &joinOptions.patchesDir)
 }
 
@@ -443,7 +440,6 @@ func newJoinData(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string, opt *joinOptions, out io.Wri
 		tlsBootstrapCfg:       tlsBootstrapCfg,
 		ignorePreflightErrors: ignorePreflightErrorsSet,
 		outputWriter:          out,
-		kustomizeDir:          opt.kustomizeDir,
 		patchesDir:            opt.patchesDir,
 	}, nil
 }
@@ -510,11 +506,6 @@ func (j *joinData) OutputWriter() io.Writer {
 	return j.outputWriter
 }
 
-// KustomizeDir returns the folder where kustomize patches for static pod manifest are stored
-func (j *joinData) KustomizeDir() string {
-	return j.kustomizeDir
-}
-
 // PatchesDir returns the folder where patches for components are stored
 func (j *joinData) PatchesDir() string {
 	return j.patchesDir
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/constant.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/constant.go
index 09a521af8da..7d157f719b3 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/constant.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/constant.go
@@ -143,9 +143,6 @@ const (
 	// EtcdUpgrade flag instruct kubeadm to execute etcd upgrade during upgrades
 	EtcdUpgrade = "etcd-upgrade"
 
-	// Kustomize flag sets the folder where kustomize patches for static pod manifest are stored
-	Kustomize = "experimental-kustomize"
-
 	// Patches flag sets the folder where kubeadm component patches are stored
 	Patches = "experimental-patches"
 )
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go
index 039d398551a..fc9630dbc76 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ limitations under the License.
 package options
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
@@ -90,12 +89,6 @@ func AddKubeadmOtherFlags(flagSet *pflag.FlagSet, rootfsPath *string) {
 	)
 }
 
-// AddKustomizePodsFlag adds the --kustomize flag to the given flagset
-func AddKustomizePodsFlag(fs *pflag.FlagSet, kustomizeDir *string) {
-	fs.StringVarP(kustomizeDir, Kustomize, "k", *kustomizeDir, "The path where kustomize patches for static pod manifests are stored.")
-	fs.MarkDeprecated(Kustomize, fmt.Sprintf("This flag is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Please use %s instead.", Patches))
-}
-
 // AddPatchesFlag adds the --patches flag to the given flagset
 func AddPatchesFlag(fs *pflag.FlagSet, patchesDir *string) {
 	fs.StringVar(patchesDir, Patches, *patchesDir, `Path to a directory that contains files named `+
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/controlplane.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/controlplane.go
index aa35d8b8bca..9e84aba83e0 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/controlplane.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/controlplane.go
@@ -100,7 +100,6 @@ func getControlPlanePhaseFlags(name string) []string {
 		options.CertificatesDir,
 		options.KubernetesVersion,
 		options.ImageRepository,
-		options.Kustomize,
 	}
 	if name == "all" || name == kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer {
 		flags = append(flags,
@@ -145,6 +144,6 @@ func runControlPlaneSubphase(component string) func(c workflow.RunData) error {
 		cfg := data.Cfg()
 
 		fmt.Printf("[control-plane] Creating static Pod manifest for %q\n", component)
-		return controlplane.CreateStaticPodFiles(data.ManifestDir(), data.KustomizeDir(), data.PatchesDir(), &cfg.ClusterConfiguration, &cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint, component)
+		return controlplane.CreateStaticPodFiles(data.ManifestDir(), data.PatchesDir(), &cfg.ClusterConfiguration, &cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint, component)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/data.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/data.go
index 90e7d1befd1..25b7454b5d2 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/data.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/data.go
@@ -45,6 +45,5 @@ type InitData interface {
 	OutputWriter() io.Writer
 	Client() (clientset.Interface, error)
 	Tokens() []string
-	KustomizeDir() string
 	PatchesDir() string
 }
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/data_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/data_test.go
index 838867839e2..e0770b6221c 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/data_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/data_test.go
@@ -48,5 +48,4 @@ func (t *testInitData) ExternalCA() bool                     { return false }
 func (t *testInitData) OutputWriter() io.Writer              { return nil }
 func (t *testInitData) Client() (clientset.Interface, error) { return nil, nil }
 func (t *testInitData) Tokens() []string                     { return nil }
-func (t *testInitData) KustomizeDir() string                 { return "" }
 func (t *testInitData) PatchesDir() string                   { return "" }
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/etcd.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/etcd.go
index c0d56b92493..54c5d926bf7 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/etcd.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/etcd.go
@@ -69,7 +69,6 @@ func getEtcdPhaseFlags() []string {
 		options.CertificatesDir,
 		options.CfgPath,
 		options.ImageRepository,
-		options.Kustomize,
 		options.Patches,
 	}
 	return flags
@@ -95,7 +94,7 @@ func runEtcdPhaseLocal() func(c workflow.RunData) error {
 				fmt.Printf("[dryrun] Would ensure that %q directory is present\n", cfg.Etcd.Local.DataDir)
 			}
 			fmt.Printf("[etcd] Creating static Pod manifest for local etcd in %q\n", data.ManifestDir())
-			if err := etcdphase.CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(data.ManifestDir(), data.KustomizeDir(), data.PatchesDir(), cfg.NodeRegistration.Name, &cfg.ClusterConfiguration, &cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint); err != nil {
+			if err := etcdphase.CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(data.ManifestDir(), data.PatchesDir(), cfg.NodeRegistration.Name, &cfg.ClusterConfiguration, &cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint); err != nil {
 				return errors.Wrap(err, "error creating local etcd static pod manifest file")
 			}
 		} else {
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplanejoin.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplanejoin.go
index ae7000bec69..c5b75eede63 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplanejoin.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplanejoin.go
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ func getControlPlaneJoinPhaseFlags(name string) []string {
 		options.NodeName,
 	}
 	if name == "etcd" {
-		flags = append(flags, options.Kustomize, options.Patches)
+		flags = append(flags, options.Patches)
 	}
 	if name != "mark-control-plane" {
 		flags = append(flags, options.APIServerAdvertiseAddress)
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ func runEtcdPhase(c workflow.RunData) error {
 	// because it needs two members as majority to agree on the consensus. You will only see this behavior between the time
 	// etcdctl member add informs the cluster about the new member and the new member successfully establishing a connection to the
 	// existing one."
-	if err := etcdphase.CreateStackedEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(client, kubeadmconstants.GetStaticPodDirectory(), data.KustomizeDir(), data.PatchesDir(), cfg.NodeRegistration.Name, &cfg.ClusterConfiguration, &cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint); err != nil {
+	if err := etcdphase.CreateStackedEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(client, kubeadmconstants.GetStaticPodDirectory(), data.PatchesDir(), cfg.NodeRegistration.Name, &cfg.ClusterConfiguration, &cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint); err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "error creating local etcd static pod manifest file")
 	}
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplaneprepare.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplaneprepare.go
index 0c757623d4a..bc6de6f5778 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplaneprepare.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplaneprepare.go
@@ -78,7 +78,6 @@ func getControlPlanePreparePhaseFlags(name string) []string {
 			options.TLSBootstrapToken,
 			options.TokenStr,
 			options.CertificateKey,
-			options.Kustomize,
 			options.Patches,
 		}
 	case "download-certs":
@@ -124,7 +123,6 @@ func getControlPlanePreparePhaseFlags(name string) []string {
 			options.APIServerBindPort,
 			options.CfgPath,
 			options.ControlPlane,
-			options.Kustomize,
 			options.Patches,
 		}
 	default:
@@ -191,7 +189,6 @@ func runControlPlanePrepareControlPlaneSubphase(c workflow.RunData) error {
 		fmt.Printf("[control-plane] Creating static Pod manifest for %q\n", component)
 		err := controlplane.CreateStaticPodFiles(
 			kubeadmconstants.GetStaticPodDirectory(),
-			data.KustomizeDir(),
 			data.PatchesDir(),
 			&cfg.ClusterConfiguration,
 			&cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint,
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/data.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/data.go
index 879ce3ce3fd..f7724718286 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/data.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/data.go
@@ -35,6 +35,5 @@ type JoinData interface {
 	ClientSet() (*clientset.Clientset, error)
 	IgnorePreflightErrors() sets.String
 	OutputWriter() io.Writer
-	KustomizeDir() string
 	PatchesDir() string
 }
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/data_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/data_test.go
index d0f980432e8..cfc956ee7f6 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/data_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/data_test.go
@@ -38,5 +38,4 @@ func (j *testJoinData) InitCfg() (*kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, error) { return
 func (j *testJoinData) ClientSet() (*clientset.Clientset, error)        { return nil, nil }
 func (j *testJoinData) IgnorePreflightErrors() sets.String              { return nil }
 func (j *testJoinData) OutputWriter() io.Writer                         { return nil }
-func (j *testJoinData) KustomizeDir() string                            { return "" }
 func (j *testJoinData) PatchesDir() string                              { return "" }
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/controlplane.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/controlplane.go
index d2628aa3cda..1f83a155ed9 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/controlplane.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/controlplane.go
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ func NewControlPlane() workflow.Phase {
 			options.KubeconfigPath,
 			options.CertificateRenewal,
 			options.EtcdUpgrade,
-			options.Kustomize,
 			options.Patches,
 		},
 	}
@@ -65,18 +64,17 @@ func runControlPlane() func(c workflow.RunData) error {
 		dryRun := data.DryRun()
 		etcdUpgrade := data.EtcdUpgrade()
 		renewCerts := data.RenewCerts()
-		kustomizeDir := data.KustomizeDir()
 		patchesDir := data.PatchesDir()
 
 		// Upgrade the control plane and etcd if installed on this node
 		fmt.Printf("[upgrade] Upgrading your Static Pod-hosted control plane instance to version %q...\n", cfg.KubernetesVersion)
 		if dryRun {
-			return upgrade.DryRunStaticPodUpgrade(kustomizeDir, patchesDir, cfg)
+			return upgrade.DryRunStaticPodUpgrade(patchesDir, cfg)
 		}
 
 		waiter := apiclient.NewKubeWaiter(data.Client(), upgrade.UpgradeManifestTimeout, os.Stdout)
 
-		if err := upgrade.PerformStaticPodUpgrade(client, waiter, cfg, etcdUpgrade, renewCerts, kustomizeDir, patchesDir); err != nil {
+		if err := upgrade.PerformStaticPodUpgrade(client, waiter, cfg, etcdUpgrade, renewCerts, patchesDir); err != nil {
 			return errors.Wrap(err, "couldn't complete the static pod upgrade")
 		}
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/data.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/data.go
index 2568d00f566..ea56ea18fa7 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/data.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/data.go
@@ -32,6 +32,5 @@ type Data interface {
 	IsControlPlaneNode() bool
 	Client() clientset.Interface
 	IgnorePreflightErrors() sets.String
-	KustomizeDir() string
 	PatchesDir() string
 }
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/apply.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/apply.go
index 6af5afc71a3..1b9b3417c53 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/apply.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/apply.go
@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@ type applyFlags struct {
 	etcdUpgrade        bool
 	renewCerts         bool
 	imagePullTimeout   time.Duration
-	kustomizeDir       string
 	patchesDir         string
 }
 
@@ -89,7 +88,6 @@ func NewCmdApply(apf *applyPlanFlags) *cobra.Command {
 	cmd.Flags().DurationVar(&flags.imagePullTimeout, "image-pull-timeout", flags.imagePullTimeout, "The maximum amount of time to wait for the control plane pods to be downloaded.")
 	// TODO: The flag was deprecated in 1.19; remove the flag following a GA deprecation policy of 12 months or 2 releases (whichever is longer)
 	cmd.Flags().MarkDeprecated("image-pull-timeout", "This flag is deprecated and will be removed in a future version.")
-	options.AddKustomizePodsFlag(cmd.Flags(), &flags.kustomizeDir)
 	options.AddPatchesFlag(cmd.Flags(), &flags.patchesDir)
 
 	return cmd
@@ -217,8 +215,8 @@ func PerformControlPlaneUpgrade(flags *applyFlags, client clientset.Interface, w
 	fmt.Printf("[upgrade/apply] Upgrading your Static Pod-hosted control plane to version %q...\n", internalcfg.KubernetesVersion)
 
 	if flags.dryRun {
-		return upgrade.DryRunStaticPodUpgrade(flags.kustomizeDir, flags.patchesDir, internalcfg)
+		return upgrade.DryRunStaticPodUpgrade(flags.patchesDir, internalcfg)
 	}
 
-	return upgrade.PerformStaticPodUpgrade(client, waiter, internalcfg, flags.etcdUpgrade, flags.renewCerts, flags.kustomizeDir, flags.patchesDir)
+	return upgrade.PerformStaticPodUpgrade(client, waiter, internalcfg, flags.etcdUpgrade, flags.renewCerts, flags.patchesDir)
 }
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/node.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/node.go
index d3d013177d2..cb6c3b0f0bf 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/node.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/upgrade/node.go
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ type nodeOptions struct {
 	etcdUpgrade           bool
 	renewCerts            bool
 	dryRun                bool
-	kustomizeDir          string
 	patchesDir            string
 	ignorePreflightErrors []string
 }
@@ -59,7 +58,6 @@ type nodeData struct {
 	cfg                   *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration
 	isControlPlaneNode    bool
 	client                clientset.Interface
-	kustomizeDir          string
 	patchesDir            string
 	ignorePreflightErrors sets.String
 }
@@ -81,7 +79,6 @@ func NewCmdNode() *cobra.Command {
 	// adds flags to the node command
 	// flags could be eventually inherited by the sub-commands automatically generated for phases
 	addUpgradeNodeFlags(cmd.Flags(), nodeOptions)
-	options.AddKustomizePodsFlag(cmd.Flags(), &nodeOptions.kustomizeDir)
 	options.AddPatchesFlag(cmd.Flags(), &nodeOptions.patchesDir)
 
 	// initialize the workflow runner with the list of phases
@@ -159,7 +156,6 @@ func newNodeData(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string, options *nodeOptions) (*node
 		cfg:                   cfg,
 		client:                client,
 		isControlPlaneNode:    isControlPlaneNode,
-		kustomizeDir:          options.kustomizeDir,
 		patchesDir:            options.patchesDir,
 		ignorePreflightErrors: ignorePreflightErrorsSet,
 	}, nil
@@ -195,11 +191,6 @@ func (d *nodeData) Client() clientset.Interface {
 	return d.client
 }
 
-// KustomizeDir returns the folder where kustomize patches for static pod manifest are stored
-func (d *nodeData) KustomizeDir() string {
-	return d.kustomizeDir
-}
-
 // PatchesDir returns the folder where patches for components are stored
 func (d *nodeData) PatchesDir() string {
 	return d.patchesDir
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests.go
index 6e2037c20ef..4a6d0d1c03a 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests.go
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 // CreateInitStaticPodManifestFiles will write all static pod manifest files needed to bring up the control plane.
-func CreateInitStaticPodManifestFiles(manifestDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir string, cfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration) error {
+func CreateInitStaticPodManifestFiles(manifestDir, patchesDir string, cfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration) error {
 	klog.V(1).Infoln("[control-plane] creating static Pod files")
-	return CreateStaticPodFiles(manifestDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir, &cfg.ClusterConfiguration, &cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint, kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer, kubeadmconstants.KubeControllerManager, kubeadmconstants.KubeScheduler)
+	return CreateStaticPodFiles(manifestDir, patchesDir, &cfg.ClusterConfiguration, &cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint, kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer, kubeadmconstants.KubeControllerManager, kubeadmconstants.KubeScheduler)
 }
 
 // GetStaticPodSpecs returns all staticPodSpecs actualized to the context of the current configuration
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ func GetStaticPodSpecs(cfg *kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration, endpoint *kubeadmap
 }
 
 // CreateStaticPodFiles creates all the requested static pod files.
-func CreateStaticPodFiles(manifestDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir string, cfg *kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration, endpoint *kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint, componentNames ...string) error {
+func CreateStaticPodFiles(manifestDir, patchesDir string, cfg *kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration, endpoint *kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint, componentNames ...string) error {
 	// gets the StaticPodSpecs, actualized for the current ClusterConfiguration
 	klog.V(1).Infoln("[control-plane] getting StaticPodSpecs")
 	specs := GetStaticPodSpecs(cfg, endpoint)
@@ -109,15 +109,6 @@ func CreateStaticPodFiles(manifestDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir string, cfg *kub
 			klog.V(2).Infof("[control-plane] adding volume %q for component %q", v.Name, componentName)
 		}
 
-		// if kustomizeDir is defined, customize the static pod manifest
-		if kustomizeDir != "" {
-			kustomizedSpec, err := staticpodutil.KustomizeStaticPod(&spec, kustomizeDir)
-			if err != nil {
-				return errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to kustomize static pod manifest file for %q", componentName)
-			}
-			spec = *kustomizedSpec
-		}
-
 		// if patchesDir is defined, patch the static Pod manifest
 		if patchesDir != "" {
 			patchedSpec, err := staticpodutil.PatchStaticPod(&spec, patchesDir, os.Stdout)
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests_test.go
index 138a24f6d20..0a6517d8206 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/controlplane/manifests_test.go
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ func TestCreateStaticPodFilesAndWrappers(t *testing.T) {
 
 			// Execute createStaticPodFunction
 			manifestPath := filepath.Join(tmpdir, kubeadmconstants.ManifestsSubDirName)
-			err := CreateStaticPodFiles(manifestPath, "", "", cfg, &kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint{}, test.components...)
+			err := CreateStaticPodFiles(manifestPath, "", cfg, &kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint{}, test.components...)
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("Error executing createStaticPodFunction: %v", err)
 				return
@@ -141,56 +141,6 @@ func TestCreateStaticPodFilesAndWrappers(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestCreateStaticPodFilesKustomize(t *testing.T) {
-	// Create temp folder for the test case
-	tmpdir := testutil.SetupTempDir(t)
-	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpdir)
-
-	// Creates a Cluster Configuration
-	cfg := &kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration{
-		KubernetesVersion: "v1.9.0",
-	}
-
-	kustomizePath := filepath.Join(tmpdir, "kustomize")
-	err := os.MkdirAll(kustomizePath, 0777)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Couldn't create %s", kustomizePath)
-	}
-
-	patchString := dedent.Dedent(`
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-        name: kube-apiserver
-        namespace: kube-system
-        annotations:
-            kustomize: patch for kube-apiserver
-    `)
-
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(kustomizePath, "patch.yaml"), []byte(patchString), 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("WriteFile returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	// Execute createStaticPodFunction with kustomizations
-	manifestPath := filepath.Join(tmpdir, kubeadmconstants.ManifestsSubDirName)
-	err = CreateStaticPodFiles(manifestPath, kustomizePath, "", cfg, &kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint{}, kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Errorf("Error executing createStaticPodFunction: %v", err)
-		return
-	}
-
-	pod, err := staticpodutil.ReadStaticPodFromDisk(filepath.Join(manifestPath, fmt.Sprintf("%s.yaml", kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer)))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Errorf("Error executing ReadStaticPodFromDisk: %v", err)
-		return
-	}
-
-	if _, ok := pod.ObjectMeta.Annotations["kustomize"]; !ok {
-		t.Error("Kustomize did not apply patches corresponding to the resource")
-	}
-}
-
 func TestCreateStaticPodFilesWithPatches(t *testing.T) {
 	// Create temp folder for the test case
 	tmpdir := testutil.SetupTempDir(t)
@@ -220,7 +170,7 @@ func TestCreateStaticPodFilesWithPatches(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// Execute createStaticPodFunction with patches
 	manifestPath := filepath.Join(tmpdir, kubeadmconstants.ManifestsSubDirName)
-	err = CreateStaticPodFiles(manifestPath, "", patchesPath, cfg, &kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint{}, kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer)
+	err = CreateStaticPodFiles(manifestPath, patchesPath, cfg, &kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint{}, kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("Error executing createStaticPodFunction: %v", err)
 		return
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/etcd/local.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/etcd/local.go
index ec9af722495..1965e916eed 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/etcd/local.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/etcd/local.go
@@ -50,22 +50,13 @@ const (
 // CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile will write local etcd static pod manifest file.
 // This function is used by init - when the etcd cluster is empty - or by kubeadm
 // upgrade - when the etcd cluster is already up and running (and the --initial-cluster flag have no impact)
-func CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(manifestDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir string, nodeName string, cfg *kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration, endpoint *kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint) error {
+func CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(manifestDir, patchesDir string, nodeName string, cfg *kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration, endpoint *kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint) error {
 	if cfg.Etcd.External != nil {
 		return errors.New("etcd static pod manifest cannot be generated for cluster using external etcd")
 	}
 	// gets etcd StaticPodSpec
 	spec := GetEtcdPodSpec(cfg, endpoint, nodeName, []etcdutil.Member{})
 
-	// if kustomizeDir is defined, customize the static pod manifest
-	if kustomizeDir != "" {
-		kustomizedSpec, err := staticpodutil.KustomizeStaticPod(&spec, kustomizeDir)
-		if err != nil {
-			return errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to kustomize static pod manifest file for %q", kubeadmconstants.Etcd)
-		}
-		spec = *kustomizedSpec
-	}
-
 	// if patchesDir is defined, patch the static Pod manifest
 	if patchesDir != "" {
 		patchedSpec, err := staticpodutil.PatchStaticPod(&spec, patchesDir, os.Stdout)
@@ -152,7 +143,7 @@ func RemoveStackedEtcdMemberFromCluster(client clientset.Interface, cfg *kubeadm
 // CreateStackedEtcdStaticPodManifestFile will write local etcd static pod manifest file
 // for an additional etcd member that is joining an existing local/stacked etcd cluster.
 // Other members of the etcd cluster will be notified of the joining node in beforehand as well.
-func CreateStackedEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(client clientset.Interface, manifestDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir string, nodeName string, cfg *kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration, endpoint *kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint) error {
+func CreateStackedEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(client clientset.Interface, manifestDir, patchesDir string, nodeName string, cfg *kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration, endpoint *kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint) error {
 	// creates an etcd client that connects to all the local/stacked etcd members
 	klog.V(1).Info("creating etcd client that connects to etcd pods")
 	etcdClient, err := etcdutil.NewFromCluster(client, cfg.CertificatesDir)
@@ -196,15 +187,6 @@ func CreateStackedEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(client clientset.Interface, manifest
 	// gets etcd StaticPodSpec, actualized for the current InitConfiguration and the new list of etcd members
 	spec := GetEtcdPodSpec(cfg, endpoint, nodeName, initialCluster)
 
-	// if kustomizeDir is defined, customize the static pod manifest
-	if kustomizeDir != "" {
-		kustomizedSpec, err := staticpodutil.KustomizeStaticPod(&spec, kustomizeDir)
-		if err != nil {
-			return errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to kustomize static pod manifest file for %q", kubeadmconstants.Etcd)
-		}
-		spec = *kustomizedSpec
-	}
-
 	// if patchesDir is defined, patch the static Pod manifest
 	if patchesDir != "" {
 		patchedSpec, err := staticpodutil.PatchStaticPod(&spec, patchesDir, os.Stdout)
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/etcd/local_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/etcd/local_test.go
index 42136dfa06a..d45df033379 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/etcd/local_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/etcd/local_test.go
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ func TestCreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, test := range tests {
 		// Execute createStaticPodFunction
 		manifestPath := filepath.Join(tmpdir, kubeadmconstants.ManifestsSubDirName)
-		err := CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(manifestPath, "", "", "", test.cfg, &kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint{})
+		err := CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(manifestPath, "", "", test.cfg, &kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint{})
 
 		if !test.expectedError {
 			if err != nil {
@@ -111,61 +111,6 @@ func TestCreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestCreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFileKustomize(t *testing.T) {
-	// Create temp folder for the test case
-	tmpdir := testutil.SetupTempDir(t)
-	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpdir)
-
-	// Creates a Cluster Configuration
-	cfg := &kubeadmapi.ClusterConfiguration{
-		KubernetesVersion: "v1.7.0",
-		Etcd: kubeadmapi.Etcd{
-			Local: &kubeadmapi.LocalEtcd{
-				DataDir: tmpdir + "/etcd",
-			},
-		},
-	}
-
-	kustomizePath := filepath.Join(tmpdir, "kustomize")
-	err := os.MkdirAll(kustomizePath, 0777)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Couldn't create %s", kustomizePath)
-	}
-
-	patchString := dedent.Dedent(`
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-        name: etcd
-        namespace: kube-system
-        annotations:
-            kustomize: patch for etcd
-    `)
-
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(kustomizePath, "patch.yaml"), []byte(patchString), 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("WriteFile returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	// Execute createStaticPodFunction with kustomizations
-	manifestPath := filepath.Join(tmpdir, kubeadmconstants.ManifestsSubDirName)
-	err = CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(manifestPath, kustomizePath, "", "", cfg, &kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint{})
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Errorf("Error executing createStaticPodFunction: %v", err)
-		return
-	}
-
-	pod, err := staticpodutil.ReadStaticPodFromDisk(filepath.Join(manifestPath, fmt.Sprintf("%s.yaml", kubeadmconstants.Etcd)))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Errorf("Error executing ReadStaticPodFromDisk: %v", err)
-		return
-	}
-
-	if _, ok := pod.ObjectMeta.Annotations["kustomize"]; !ok {
-		t.Error("Kustomize did not apply patches corresponding to the resource")
-	}
-}
-
 func TestCreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFileWithPatches(t *testing.T) {
 	// Create temp folder for the test case
 	tmpdir := testutil.SetupTempDir(t)
@@ -199,7 +144,7 @@ func TestCreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFileWithPatches(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	manifestPath := filepath.Join(tmpdir, kubeadmconstants.ManifestsSubDirName)
-	err = CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(manifestPath, "", patchesPath, "", cfg, &kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint{})
+	err = CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(manifestPath, patchesPath, "", cfg, &kubeadmapi.APIEndpoint{})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("Error executing createStaticPodFunction: %v", err)
 		return
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods.go
index 60c5b1cc138..26b43b850c8 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods.go
@@ -53,8 +53,6 @@ type StaticPodPathManager interface {
 	MoveFile(oldPath, newPath string) error
 	// KubernetesDir is the directory Kubernetes owns for storing various configuration files
 	KubernetesDir() string
-	// KustomizeDir should point to the folder where kustomize patches for static pod manifest are stored
-	KustomizeDir() string
 	// PatchesDir should point to the folder where patches for components are stored
 	PatchesDir() string
 	// RealManifestPath gets the file path for the component in the "real" static pod manifest directory used by the kubelet
@@ -78,7 +76,6 @@ type StaticPodPathManager interface {
 // KubeStaticPodPathManager is a real implementation of StaticPodPathManager that is used when upgrading a static pod cluster
 type KubeStaticPodPathManager struct {
 	kubernetesDir     string
-	kustomizeDir      string
 	patchesDir        string
 	realManifestDir   string
 	tempManifestDir   string
@@ -90,10 +87,9 @@ type KubeStaticPodPathManager struct {
 }
 
 // NewKubeStaticPodPathManager creates a new instance of KubeStaticPodPathManager
-func NewKubeStaticPodPathManager(kubernetesDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir, tempDir, backupDir, backupEtcdDir string, keepManifestDir, keepEtcdDir bool) StaticPodPathManager {
+func NewKubeStaticPodPathManager(kubernetesDir, patchesDir, tempDir, backupDir, backupEtcdDir string, keepManifestDir, keepEtcdDir bool) StaticPodPathManager {
 	return &KubeStaticPodPathManager{
 		kubernetesDir:     kubernetesDir,
-		kustomizeDir:      kustomizeDir,
 		patchesDir:        patchesDir,
 		realManifestDir:   filepath.Join(kubernetesDir, constants.ManifestsSubDirName),
 		tempManifestDir:   tempDir,
@@ -105,7 +101,7 @@ func NewKubeStaticPodPathManager(kubernetesDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir, tempDi
 }
 
 // NewKubeStaticPodPathManagerUsingTempDirs creates a new instance of KubeStaticPodPathManager with temporary directories backing it
-func NewKubeStaticPodPathManagerUsingTempDirs(kubernetesDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir string, saveManifestsDir, saveEtcdDir bool) (StaticPodPathManager, error) {
+func NewKubeStaticPodPathManagerUsingTempDirs(kubernetesDir, patchesDir string, saveManifestsDir, saveEtcdDir bool) (StaticPodPathManager, error) {
 
 	upgradedManifestsDir, err := constants.CreateTempDirForKubeadm(kubernetesDir, "kubeadm-upgraded-manifests")
 	if err != nil {
@@ -120,7 +116,7 @@ func NewKubeStaticPodPathManagerUsingTempDirs(kubernetesDir, kustomizeDir, patch
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	return NewKubeStaticPodPathManager(kubernetesDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir, upgradedManifestsDir, backupManifestsDir, backupEtcdDir, saveManifestsDir, saveEtcdDir), nil
+	return NewKubeStaticPodPathManager(kubernetesDir, patchesDir, upgradedManifestsDir, backupManifestsDir, backupEtcdDir, saveManifestsDir, saveEtcdDir), nil
 }
 
 // MoveFile should move a file from oldPath to newPath
@@ -133,11 +129,6 @@ func (spm *KubeStaticPodPathManager) KubernetesDir() string {
 	return spm.kubernetesDir
 }
 
-// KustomizeDir should point to the folder where kustomize patches for static pod manifest are stored
-func (spm *KubeStaticPodPathManager) KustomizeDir() string {
-	return spm.kustomizeDir
-}
-
 // PatchesDir should point to the folder where patches for components are stored
 func (spm *KubeStaticPodPathManager) PatchesDir() string {
 	return spm.patchesDir
@@ -332,7 +323,7 @@ func performEtcdStaticPodUpgrade(certsRenewMgr *renewal.Manager, client clientse
 
 	// Write the updated etcd static Pod manifest into the temporary directory, at this point no etcd change
 	// has occurred in any aspects.
-	if err := etcdphase.CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(pathMgr.TempManifestDir(), pathMgr.KustomizeDir(), pathMgr.PatchesDir(), cfg.NodeRegistration.Name, &cfg.ClusterConfiguration, &cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint); err != nil {
+	if err := etcdphase.CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(pathMgr.TempManifestDir(), pathMgr.PatchesDir(), cfg.NodeRegistration.Name, &cfg.ClusterConfiguration, &cfg.LocalAPIEndpoint); err != nil {
 		return true, errors.Wrap(err, "error creating local etcd static pod manifest file")
 	}
 
@@ -478,7 +469,7 @@ func StaticPodControlPlane(client clientset.Interface, waiter apiclient.Waiter,
 
 	// Write the updated static Pod manifests into the temporary directory
 	fmt.Printf("[upgrade/staticpods] Writing new Static Pod manifests to %q\n", pathMgr.TempManifestDir())
-	err = controlplane.CreateInitStaticPodManifestFiles(pathMgr.TempManifestDir(), pathMgr.KustomizeDir(), pathMgr.PatchesDir(), cfg)
+	err = controlplane.CreateInitStaticPodManifestFiles(pathMgr.TempManifestDir(), pathMgr.PatchesDir(), cfg)
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "error creating init static pod manifest files")
 	}
@@ -605,14 +596,14 @@ func renewCertsByComponent(cfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, component string,
 }
 
 // GetPathManagerForUpgrade returns a path manager properly configured for the given InitConfiguration.
-func GetPathManagerForUpgrade(kubernetesDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir string, internalcfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, etcdUpgrade bool) (StaticPodPathManager, error) {
+func GetPathManagerForUpgrade(kubernetesDir, patchesDir string, internalcfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, etcdUpgrade bool) (StaticPodPathManager, error) {
 	isExternalEtcd := internalcfg.Etcd.External != nil
-	return NewKubeStaticPodPathManagerUsingTempDirs(kubernetesDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir, true, etcdUpgrade && !isExternalEtcd)
+	return NewKubeStaticPodPathManagerUsingTempDirs(kubernetesDir, patchesDir, true, etcdUpgrade && !isExternalEtcd)
 }
 
 // PerformStaticPodUpgrade performs the upgrade of the control plane components for a static pod hosted cluster
-func PerformStaticPodUpgrade(client clientset.Interface, waiter apiclient.Waiter, internalcfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, etcdUpgrade, renewCerts bool, kustomizeDir, patchesDir string) error {
-	pathManager, err := GetPathManagerForUpgrade(constants.KubernetesDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir, internalcfg, etcdUpgrade)
+func PerformStaticPodUpgrade(client clientset.Interface, waiter apiclient.Waiter, internalcfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration, etcdUpgrade, renewCerts bool, patchesDir string) error {
+	pathManager, err := GetPathManagerForUpgrade(constants.KubernetesDir, patchesDir, internalcfg, etcdUpgrade)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -622,14 +613,14 @@ func PerformStaticPodUpgrade(client clientset.Interface, waiter apiclient.Waiter
 }
 
 // DryRunStaticPodUpgrade fakes an upgrade of the control plane
-func DryRunStaticPodUpgrade(kustomizeDir, patchesDir string, internalcfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration) error {
+func DryRunStaticPodUpgrade(patchesDir string, internalcfg *kubeadmapi.InitConfiguration) error {
 
 	dryRunManifestDir, err := constants.CreateTempDirForKubeadm("", "kubeadm-upgrade-dryrun")
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	defer os.RemoveAll(dryRunManifestDir)
-	if err := controlplane.CreateInitStaticPodManifestFiles(dryRunManifestDir, kustomizeDir, patchesDir, internalcfg); err != nil {
+	if err := controlplane.CreateInitStaticPodManifestFiles(dryRunManifestDir, patchesDir, internalcfg); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods_test.go
index c98eecb084a..15c28c22762 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/phases/upgrade/staticpods_test.go
@@ -143,7 +143,6 @@ func (w *fakeWaiter) WaitForKubeletAndFunc(f func() error) error {
 
 type fakeStaticPodPathManager struct {
 	kubernetesDir     string
-	kustomizeDir      string
 	patchesDir        string
 	realManifestDir   string
 	tempManifestDir   string
@@ -196,10 +195,6 @@ func (spm *fakeStaticPodPathManager) KubernetesDir() string {
 	return spm.kubernetesDir
 }
 
-func (spm *fakeStaticPodPathManager) KustomizeDir() string {
-	return spm.kustomizeDir
-}
-
 func (spm *fakeStaticPodPathManager) PatchesDir() string {
 	return spm.patchesDir
 }
@@ -495,11 +490,11 @@ func TestStaticPodControlPlane(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 
 			// Initialize the directory with v1.7 manifests; should then be upgraded to v1.8 using the method
-			err = controlplanephase.CreateInitStaticPodManifestFiles(pathMgr.RealManifestDir(), pathMgr.KustomizeDir(), pathMgr.PatchesDir(), oldcfg)
+			err = controlplanephase.CreateInitStaticPodManifestFiles(pathMgr.RealManifestDir(), pathMgr.PatchesDir(), oldcfg)
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Fatalf("couldn't run CreateInitStaticPodManifestFiles: %v", err)
 			}
-			err = etcdphase.CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(pathMgr.RealManifestDir(), pathMgr.KustomizeDir(), pathMgr.PatchesDir(), oldcfg.NodeRegistration.Name, &oldcfg.ClusterConfiguration, &oldcfg.LocalAPIEndpoint)
+			err = etcdphase.CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile(pathMgr.RealManifestDir(), pathMgr.PatchesDir(), oldcfg.NodeRegistration.Name, &oldcfg.ClusterConfiguration, &oldcfg.LocalAPIEndpoint)
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Fatalf("couldn't run CreateLocalEtcdStaticPodManifestFile: %v", err)
 			}
@@ -635,7 +630,7 @@ func TestCleanupDirs(t *testing.T) {
 			backupEtcdDir, cleanup := getTempDir(t, "backupEtcdDir")
 			defer cleanup()
 
-			mgr := NewKubeStaticPodPathManager(realKubernetesDir, "", "", tempManifestDir, backupManifestDir, backupEtcdDir, test.keepManifest, test.keepEtcd)
+			mgr := NewKubeStaticPodPathManager(realKubernetesDir, "", tempManifestDir, backupManifestDir, backupEtcdDir, test.keepManifest, test.keepEtcd)
 			err := mgr.CleanupDirs()
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("unexpected error cleaning up: %v", err)
@@ -953,7 +948,7 @@ func TestGetPathManagerForUpgrade(t *testing.T) {
 				os.RemoveAll(tmpdir)
 			}()
 
-			pathmgr, err := GetPathManagerForUpgrade(tmpdir, "", "", test.cfg, test.etcdUpgrade)
+			pathmgr, err := GetPathManagerForUpgrade(tmpdir, "", test.cfg, test.etcdUpgrade)
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Fatalf("unexpected error creating path manager: %v", err)
 			}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/BUILD b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/BUILD
index ff443e200da..eb3e8ff5cb2 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/BUILD
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/BUILD
@@ -86,7 +86,6 @@ filegroup(
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/image:all-srcs",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/initsystem:all-srcs",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kubeconfig:all-srcs",
-        "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize:all-srcs",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/output:all-srcs",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/patches:all-srcs",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/pkiutil:all-srcs",
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/BUILD b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/BUILD
deleted file mode 100644
index 4d49d43e505..00000000000
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/BUILD
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl", "go_library", "go_test")
-
-go_library(
-    name = "go_default_library",
-    srcs = [
-        "json6902.go",
-        "kustomize.go",
-        "strategicmerge.go",
-    ],
-    importpath = "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize",
-    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
-    deps = [
-        "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured:go_default_library",
-        "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime:go_default_library",
-        "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/yaml:go_default_library",
-        "//staging/src/k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/kustomize:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/github.com/pkg/errors:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/constants:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/fs:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/ifc:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/loader:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/patch:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/types:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/sigs.k8s.io/yaml:go_default_library",
-    ],
-)
-
-filegroup(
-    name = "package-srcs",
-    srcs = glob(["**"]),
-    tags = ["automanaged"],
-    visibility = ["//visibility:private"],
-)
-
-filegroup(
-    name = "all-srcs",
-    srcs = [":package-srcs"],
-    tags = ["automanaged"],
-    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
-)
-
-go_test(
-    name = "go_default_test",
-    srcs = [
-        "kustomize_test.go",
-        "strategicmerge_test.go",
-    ],
-    embed = [":go_default_library"],
-    deps = [
-        "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured:go_default_library",
-        "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/github.com/lithammer/dedent:go_default_library",
-    ],
-)
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/json6902.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/json6902.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 2fbfb94abd7..00000000000
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/json6902.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-/*
-Copyright 2019 The Kubernetes Authors.
-
-Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-limitations under the License.
-*/
-
-// Package kustomize contains helpers for working with embedded kustomize commands
-package kustomize
-
-import (
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/ifc"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/patch"
-)
-
-// json6902 represents a json6902 patch
-type json6902 struct {
-	// Target refers to a Kubernetes object that the json patch will be applied to
-	*patch.Target
-
-	// Patch contain the json patch as a string
-	Patch string
-}
-
-// json6902Slice is a slice of json6902 patches.
-type json6902Slice []*json6902
-
-// newJSON6902FromFile returns a json6902 patch from a file
-func newJSON6902FromFile(f patch.Json6902, ldr ifc.Loader, file string) (*json6902, error) {
-	patch, err := ldr.Load(file)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	return &json6902{
-		Target: f.Target,
-		Patch:  string(patch),
-	}, nil
-}
-
-// filterByResource returns all the json6902 patches in the json6902Slice corresponding to a given resource
-func (s *json6902Slice) filterByResource(r *unstructured.Unstructured) json6902Slice {
-	var result json6902Slice
-	for _, p := range *s {
-		if p.Group == r.GroupVersionKind().Group &&
-			p.Version == r.GroupVersionKind().Version &&
-			p.Kind == r.GroupVersionKind().Kind &&
-			p.Namespace == r.GetNamespace() &&
-			p.Name == r.GetName() {
-			result = append(result, p)
-		}
-	}
-	return result
-}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/kustomize.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/kustomize.go
deleted file mode 100644
index b40dd744bc4..00000000000
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/kustomize.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,251 +0,0 @@
-/*
-Copyright 2019 The Kubernetes Authors.
-
-Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-limitations under the License.
-*/
-
-// Package kustomize contains helpers for working with embedded kustomize commands
-package kustomize
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"fmt"
-	"io/ioutil"
-	"path/filepath"
-	"runtime"
-	"sync"
-
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
-	yamlutil "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/yaml"
-	"k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/kustomize"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/constants"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/fs"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/ifc"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/loader"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/patch"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/types"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
-)
-
-// Manager define a manager that allow access to kustomize capabilities
-type Manager struct {
-	kustomizeDir          string
-	kustomizationFile     *types.Kustomization
-	strategicMergePatches strategicMergeSlice
-	json6902Patches       json6902Slice
-}
-
-var (
-	lock      = &sync.Mutex{}
-	instances = map[string]*Manager{}
-)
-
-// GetManager return the KustomizeManager singleton instance
-// NB. this is done at singleton instance level because kubeadm has a unique pool
-// of patches that are applied to different content, at different time
-func GetManager(kustomizeDir string) (*Manager, error) {
-	lock.Lock()
-	defer lock.Unlock()
-
-	// if the instance does not exists, create it
-	if _, ok := instances[kustomizeDir]; !ok {
-		km := &Manager{
-			kustomizeDir: kustomizeDir,
-		}
-
-		// Create a loader that mimics the behavior of kubectl kustomize, including support for reading from
-		// a local folder or git repository like git@github.com:someOrg/someRepo.git or https://github.com/someOrg/someRepo?ref=someHash
-		// in order to do so you must use ldr.Root() instead of km.kustomizeDir and ldr.Load instead of other ways to read files
-		fSys := fs.MakeRealFS()
-		ldr, err := loader.NewLoader(km.kustomizeDir, fSys)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-		defer ldr.Cleanup()
-
-		// read the Kustomization file and all the patches it is
-		// referencing (either stategicMerge or json6902 patches)
-		if err := km.loadFromKustomizationFile(ldr); err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-
-		// if a Kustomization file was not found, kubeadm creates
-		// one using all the patches in the folder; however in this
-		// case only stategicMerge patches are supported
-		if km.kustomizationFile == nil {
-			km.kustomizationFile = &types.Kustomization{}
-			if err := km.loadFromFolder(ldr); err != nil {
-				return nil, err
-			}
-		}
-
-		instances[kustomizeDir] = km
-	}
-
-	return instances[kustomizeDir], nil
-}
-
-// loadFromKustomizationFile reads a Kustomization file and all the patches it is
-// referencing (either stategicMerge or json6902 patches)
-func (km *Manager) loadFromKustomizationFile(ldr ifc.Loader) error {
-	// Kustomize support different KustomizationFileNames, so we try to read all
-	var content []byte
-	match := 0
-	for _, kf := range constants.KustomizationFileNames {
-		c, err := ldr.Load(kf)
-		if err == nil {
-			match++
-			content = c
-		}
-	}
-
-	// if no kustomization file is found return
-	if match == 0 {
-		return nil
-	}
-
-	// if more that one kustomization file is found, return error
-	if match > 1 {
-		return errors.Errorf("Found multiple kustomization files under: %s\n", ldr.Root())
-	}
-
-	// Decode the kustomization file
-	decoder := yamlutil.NewYAMLOrJSONDecoder(bytes.NewReader(content), 1024)
-	var k = &types.Kustomization{}
-	if err := decoder.Decode(k); err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrap(err, "Error decoding kustomization file")
-	}
-	km.kustomizationFile = k
-
-	// gets all the strategic merge patches
-	for _, f := range km.kustomizationFile.PatchesStrategicMerge {
-		smp, err := newStrategicMergeSliceFromFile(ldr, string(f))
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		km.strategicMergePatches = append(km.strategicMergePatches, smp...)
-	}
-
-	// gets all the json6902 patches
-	for _, f := range km.kustomizationFile.PatchesJson6902 {
-		jp, err := newJSON6902FromFile(f, ldr, f.Path)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		km.json6902Patches = append(km.json6902Patches, jp)
-	}
-
-	return nil
-}
-
-// loadFromFolder returns all the stategicMerge patches in a folder
-func (km *Manager) loadFromFolder(ldr ifc.Loader) error {
-	files, err := ioutil.ReadDir(ldr.Root())
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	for _, fileInfo := range files {
-		if fileInfo.IsDir() {
-			continue
-		}
-
-		smp, err := newStrategicMergeSliceFromFile(ldr, fileInfo.Name())
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		km.strategicMergePatches = append(km.strategicMergePatches, smp...)
-	}
-	return nil
-}
-
-// Kustomize apply a set of patches to a resource.
-// Portions of the kustomize logic in this function are taken from the kubernetes-sigs/kind project
-func (km *Manager) Kustomize(data []byte) ([]byte, error) {
-	// parse the resource to kustomize
-	decoder := yamlutil.NewYAMLOrJSONDecoder(bytes.NewReader(data), 1024)
-	var resource *unstructured.Unstructured
-	if err := decoder.Decode(&resource); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	// get patches corresponding to this resource
-	strategicMerge := km.strategicMergePatches.filterByResource(resource)
-	json6902 := km.json6902Patches.filterByResource(resource)
-
-	// if there are no patches, for the target resources, exit
-	patchesCnt := len(strategicMerge) + len(json6902)
-	if patchesCnt == 0 {
-		return data, nil
-	}
-
-	fmt.Printf("[kustomize] Applying %d patches to %s Resource=%s/%s\n", patchesCnt, resource.GroupVersionKind(), resource.GetNamespace(), resource.GetName())
-
-	// create an in memory fs to use for the kustomization
-	memFS := fs.MakeFakeFS()
-
-	fakeDir := "/"
-	// for Windows we need this to be a drive because kustomize uses filepath.Abs()
-	// which will add a drive letter if there is none. which drive letter is
-	// unimportant as the path is on the fake filesystem anyhow
-	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
-		fakeDir = `C:\`
-	}
-
-	// writes the resource to a file in the temp file system
-	b, err := yaml.Marshal(resource)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	name := "resource.yaml"
-	memFS.WriteFile(filepath.Join(fakeDir, name), b)
-
-	km.kustomizationFile.Resources = []string{name}
-
-	// writes strategic merge patches to files in the temp file system
-	km.kustomizationFile.PatchesStrategicMerge = []patch.StrategicMerge{}
-	for i, p := range strategicMerge {
-		b, err := yaml.Marshal(p)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-		name := fmt.Sprintf("patch-%d.yaml", i)
-		memFS.WriteFile(filepath.Join(fakeDir, name), b)
-
-		km.kustomizationFile.PatchesStrategicMerge = append(km.kustomizationFile.PatchesStrategicMerge, patch.StrategicMerge(name))
-	}
-
-	// writes json6902 patches to files in the temp file system
-	km.kustomizationFile.PatchesJson6902 = []patch.Json6902{}
-	for i, p := range json6902 {
-		name := fmt.Sprintf("patchjson-%d.yaml", i)
-		memFS.WriteFile(filepath.Join(fakeDir, name), []byte(p.Patch))
-
-		km.kustomizationFile.PatchesJson6902 = append(km.kustomizationFile.PatchesJson6902, patch.Json6902{Target: p.Target, Path: name})
-	}
-
-	// writes the kustomization file to the temp file system
-	kbytes, err := yaml.Marshal(km.kustomizationFile)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	memFS.WriteFile(filepath.Join(fakeDir, "kustomization.yaml"), kbytes)
-
-	// Finally customize the target resource
-	var out bytes.Buffer
-	if err := kustomize.RunKustomizeBuild(&out, memFS, fakeDir); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	return out.Bytes(), nil
-}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/kustomize_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/kustomize_test.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 41643916e7e..00000000000
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/kustomize_test.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,203 +0,0 @@
-/*
-Copyright 2019 The Kubernetes Authors.
-
-Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-limitations under the License.
-*/
-
-package kustomize
-
-import (
-	"io/ioutil"
-	"os"
-	"path/filepath"
-	"strings"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/lithammer/dedent"
-)
-
-func TestKustomizeWithoutKustomizationFile(t *testing.T) {
-	tmpdir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal("Couldn't create tmpdir")
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpdir)
-
-	strategicMergePatch1 := dedent.Dedent(`
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-        name: kube-apiserver
-        annotations:
-            kustomize: patch for kube-apiserver
-    `)
-
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpdir, "patch-1.yaml"), []byte(strategicMergePatch1), 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("WriteFile returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	strategicMergePatch2 := dedent.Dedent(`
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-        name: kube-scheduler
-        annotations:
-            kustomize: patch for kube-scheduler
-    `)
-
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpdir, "patch-2.yaml"), []byte(strategicMergePatch2), 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("WriteFile returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	km, err := GetManager(tmpdir)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("GetManager returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	resource := dedent.Dedent(`
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-        name: kube-apiserver
-    `)
-
-	kustomized, err := km.Kustomize([]byte(resource))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Kustomize returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	if !strings.Contains(string(kustomized), "kustomize: patch for kube-apiserver") {
-		t.Error("Kustomize did not apply strategicMergePatch")
-	}
-
-	if strings.Contains(string(kustomized), "kustomize: patch for kube-scheduler") {
-		t.Error("Kustomize did apply patches not corresponding to the resource")
-	}
-}
-
-func TestKustomizeWithKustomizationFile(t *testing.T) {
-	tmpdir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal("Couldn't create tmpdir")
-	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpdir)
-
-	kustomizationFile := dedent.Dedent(`
-    patchesJson6902:
-    - target:
-        version: v1
-        kind: Pod
-        name: kube-apiserver
-      path: patch-1.yaml
-    - target:
-        version: v1
-        kind: Pod
-        name: kube-scheduler
-      path: patch-2.yaml
-    patchesStrategicMerge:
-    - patch-3.yaml
-    - patch-4.yaml
-    `)
-
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpdir, "kustomization.yaml"), []byte(kustomizationFile), 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("WriteFile returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	jsonPatch1 := dedent.Dedent(`
-    - op: add
-      path: "/metadata/labels"
-      value: 
-          kustomize1: patch for kube-apiserver
-    `)
-
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpdir, "patch-1.yaml"), []byte(jsonPatch1), 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("WriteFile returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	jsonPatch2 := dedent.Dedent(`
-    - op: add
-      path: "/metadata/labels"
-      value:
-      kustomize1: patch for kube-scheduler	
-    `)
-
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpdir, "patch-2.yaml"), []byte(jsonPatch2), 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("WriteFile returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	strategicMergePatch1 := dedent.Dedent(`
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-        name: kube-apiserver
-        annotations:
-            kustomize2: patch for kube-apiserver
-    `)
-
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpdir, "patch-3.yaml"), []byte(strategicMergePatch1), 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("WriteFile returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	strategicMergePatch2 := dedent.Dedent(`
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-        name: kube-scheduler
-        annotations:
-            kustomize2: patch for kube-scheduler
-    `)
-
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpdir, "patch-4.yaml"), []byte(strategicMergePatch2), 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("WriteFile returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	km, err := GetManager(tmpdir)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("GetManager returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	resource := dedent.Dedent(`
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-        name: kube-apiserver
-    `)
-
-	kustomized, err := km.Kustomize([]byte(resource))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Kustomize returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	if !strings.Contains(string(kustomized), "kustomize1: patch for kube-apiserver") {
-		t.Error("Kustomize did not apply json patches corresponding to the resource")
-	}
-
-	if strings.Contains(string(kustomized), "kustomize1: patch for kube-scheduler") {
-		t.Error("Kustomize did apply json patches not corresponding to the resource")
-	}
-
-	if !strings.Contains(string(kustomized), "kustomize2: patch for kube-apiserver") {
-		t.Error("Kustomize did not apply strategic merge patches corresponding to the resource")
-	}
-
-	if strings.Contains(string(kustomized), "kustomize2: patch for kube-scheduler") {
-		t.Error("Kustomize did apply strategic merge patches not corresponding to the resource")
-	}
-}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/strategicmerge.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/strategicmerge.go
deleted file mode 100644
index ca6c8e629e4..00000000000
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/strategicmerge.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,140 +0,0 @@
-/*
-Copyright 2019 The Kubernetes Authors.
-
-Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-limitations under the License.
-*/
-
-package kustomize
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"io"
-	"strings"
-
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
-
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/yaml"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/ifc"
-)
-
-// strategicMergeSlice is a slice of strategic merge patches.
-// Unstructured objects are used to represent strategic merge patches of any group/version/kind.
-type strategicMergeSlice []*unstructured.Unstructured
-
-// newStrategicMergeSliceFromFile returns a slice of strategic merge patches from a file
-func newStrategicMergeSliceFromFile(loader ifc.Loader, path string) (strategicMergeSlice, error) {
-	content, err := loader.Load(path)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "load from path %q failed", path)
-	}
-	res, err := newStrategicMergeSliceFromBytes(content)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "convert %q to Unstructured failed", path)
-	}
-	return res, nil
-}
-
-// newStrategicMergeSliceFromBytes returns a strategic merge patches contained in a []byte.
-// This functions handles all the nuances of Kubernetes yaml (e.g. many yaml
-// documents in one file, List of objects)
-func newStrategicMergeSliceFromBytes(in []byte) (strategicMergeSlice, error) {
-	decoder := yaml.NewYAMLOrJSONDecoder(bytes.NewReader(in), 1024)
-	var result strategicMergeSlice
-	var err error
-	// Parse all the yaml documents in the file
-	for err == nil || isEmptyYamlError(err) {
-		var u unstructured.Unstructured
-		err = decoder.Decode(&u)
-		// if the yaml document is a valid unstructured object
-		if err == nil {
-			// it the unstructured object is empty, move to the next
-			if len(u.Object) == 0 {
-				continue
-			}
-
-			// validate the object has kind, metadata.name as required by Kustomize
-			if err := validate(u); err != nil {
-				return nil, err
-			}
-
-			// if the document is a list of objects
-			if strings.HasSuffix(u.GetKind(), "List") {
-				// for each item in the list of objects
-				if err := u.EachListItem(func(item runtime.Object) error {
-					// Marshal the object
-					itemJSON, err := json.Marshal(item)
-					if err != nil {
-						return err
-					}
-
-					// Get the strategicMergeSlice for the item
-					itemU, err := newStrategicMergeSliceFromBytes(itemJSON)
-					if err != nil {
-						return err
-					}
-
-					// append the strategicMergeSlice for the item to the strategicMergeSlice
-					result = append(result, itemU...)
-
-					return nil
-				}); err != nil {
-					return nil, err
-				}
-
-				continue
-			}
-
-			// append the object to the stategicMergeSlice
-			result = append(result, &u)
-		}
-	}
-	if err != io.EOF {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	return result, nil
-}
-
-// filterByResource returns all the strategic merge patches in the strategicMergeSlice corresponding to a given resource
-func (s *strategicMergeSlice) filterByResource(r *unstructured.Unstructured) strategicMergeSlice {
-	var result strategicMergeSlice
-	for _, p := range *s {
-		if p.GroupVersionKind() == r.GroupVersionKind() &&
-			p.GetNamespace() == r.GetNamespace() &&
-			p.GetName() == r.GetName() {
-			result = append(result, p)
-		}
-	}
-	return result
-}
-
-// validate validates that u has kind and name
-// except for kind `List`, which doesn't require a name
-func validate(u unstructured.Unstructured) error {
-	kind := u.GetKind()
-	if kind == "" {
-		return errors.New("missing kind in object")
-	} else if strings.HasSuffix(kind, "List") {
-		return nil
-	}
-	if u.GetName() == "" {
-		return errors.New("missing metadata.name in object")
-	}
-	return nil
-}
-
-func isEmptyYamlError(err error) bool {
-	return strings.Contains(err.Error(), "is missing in 'null'")
-}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/strategicmerge_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/strategicmerge_test.go
deleted file mode 100644
index afd13b50ab1..00000000000
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize/strategicmerge_test.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,228 +0,0 @@
-/*
-Copyright 2019 The Kubernetes Authors.
-
-Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
-Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-limitations under the License.
-*/
-
-package kustomize
-
-import (
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/lithammer/dedent"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
-)
-
-func TestNewStategicMergeSliceFromBytes(t *testing.T) {
-	var useCases = []struct {
-		name            string
-		in              string
-		expectedPatches int
-		expectedError   bool
-	}{
-		{
-			name:            "empty",
-			in:              "",
-			expectedPatches: 0,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "single patch",
-			in: dedent.Dedent(`
-            apiVersion: v1
-            kind: Pod
-            metadata:
-              name: kube-apiserver
-            `),
-			expectedPatches: 1,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "two patches as separated yaml documents",
-			in: dedent.Dedent(`
-            apiVersion: v1
-            kind: Pod
-            metadata:
-              name: kube-apiserver
-            ---
-            apiVersion: v1
-            kind: Pod
-            metadata:
-              name: kube-apiserver
-            `),
-			expectedPatches: 2,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "two patches as a k8s list",
-			in: dedent.Dedent(`
-            apiVersion: v1
-            kind: List
-            items:
-            - apiVersion: v1
-              kind: Pod
-              metadata:
-                name: kube-apiserver
-            - apiVersion: v1
-              kind: Pod
-              metadata:
-                name: kube-apiserver
-            `),
-			expectedPatches: 2,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "nested k8s lists",
-			in: dedent.Dedent(`
-            apiVersion: v1
-            kind: List
-            items:
-            - apiVersion: v1
-              kind: Pod
-              metadata:
-                name: kube-apiserver
-            - apiVersion: v1
-              kind: List
-              items:
-              - apiVersion: v1
-                kind: Pod
-                metadata:
-                  name: kube-apiserver
-            `),
-			expectedPatches: 2,
-		},
-		{
-			name:          "invalid yaml",
-			in:            "$$$",
-			expectedError: true,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "invalid patch (missing kind)",
-			in: dedent.Dedent(`
-            apiVersion: v1
-            #kind: Pod
-            metadata:
-              name: kube-apiserver
-            `),
-			expectedError: true,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "invalid patch (missing name)",
-			in: dedent.Dedent(`
-            apiVersion: v1
-            kind: Pod
-            metadata:
-              #name: kube-apiserver
-            `),
-			expectedError: true,
-		},
-	}
-	for _, rt := range useCases {
-		t.Run(rt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			r, err := newStrategicMergeSliceFromBytes([]byte(rt.in))
-			if err != nil {
-				if !rt.expectedError {
-					t.Errorf("newStrategicMergeSliceFromBytes returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-				}
-				return
-			}
-			if err == nil && rt.expectedError {
-				t.Error("newStrategicMergeSliceFromBytes does not returned expected error")
-			}
-			if len(r) != rt.expectedPatches {
-				t.Errorf("Expected %d strategic merge patches in the slice, actual %d", rt.expectedPatches, len(r))
-			}
-		})
-	}
-}
-
-func TestFilterResource(t *testing.T) {
-	in := dedent.Dedent(`
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-      name: kube-apiserver
-      namespace: kube-system
-    ---
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-      name: kube-scheduler
-      namespace: kube-system
-    ---
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-      name: kube-scheduler
-      namespace: kube-system
-    `)
-	u, err := newStrategicMergeSliceFromBytes([]byte(in))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("newStategicMergeSliceFromBytes returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	var useCases = []struct {
-		name            string
-		rgvk            schema.GroupVersionKind
-		rnamespace      string
-		rname           string
-		expectedPatches int
-	}{
-		{
-			name:            "match 1",
-			rgvk:            schema.GroupVersionKind{Group: "", Version: "v1", Kind: "Pod"},
-			rnamespace:      "kube-system",
-			rname:           "kube-apiserver",
-			expectedPatches: 1,
-		},
-		{
-			name:            "match 2",
-			rgvk:            schema.GroupVersionKind{Group: "", Version: "v1", Kind: "Pod"},
-			rnamespace:      "kube-system",
-			rname:           "kube-scheduler",
-			expectedPatches: 2,
-		},
-		{
-			name:            "match 0 (wrong gvk)",
-			rgvk:            schema.GroupVersionKind{Group: "something", Version: "v1", Kind: "Pod"},
-			rnamespace:      "kube-system",
-			rname:           "kube-scheduler",
-			expectedPatches: 0,
-		},
-		{
-			name:            "match 0 (wrong namespace)",
-			rgvk:            schema.GroupVersionKind{Group: "", Version: "v1", Kind: "Pod"},
-			rnamespace:      "kube-something",
-			rname:           "kube-scheduler",
-			expectedPatches: 0,
-		},
-		{
-			name:            "match 0 (wrong namr)",
-			rgvk:            schema.GroupVersionKind{Group: "", Version: "v1", Kind: "Pod"},
-			rnamespace:      "kube-system",
-			rname:           "kube-something",
-			expectedPatches: 0,
-		},
-	}
-	for _, rt := range useCases {
-		t.Run(rt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			resource := &unstructured.Unstructured{}
-			resource.SetGroupVersionKind(rt.rgvk)
-			resource.SetNamespace(rt.rnamespace)
-			resource.SetName(rt.rname)
-
-			r := u.filterByResource(resource)
-
-			if len(r) != rt.expectedPatches {
-				t.Errorf("Expected %d strategic merge patches in the slice, actual %d", rt.expectedPatches, len(r))
-			}
-		})
-	}
-}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/BUILD b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/BUILD
index e3c3cdbc4ed..623a5aebd27 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/BUILD
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/BUILD
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ go_test(
         "//cmd/kubeadm/test:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/api/core/v1:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1:go_default_library",
-        "//vendor/github.com/lithammer/dedent:go_default_library",
     ],
 )
 
@@ -28,7 +27,6 @@ go_library(
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm:go_default_library",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/constants:go_default_library",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util:go_default_library",
-        "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize:go_default_library",
         "//cmd/kubeadm/app/util/patches:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/api/core/v1:go_default_library",
         "//staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource:go_default_library",
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/utils.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/utils.go
index fd243165113..8c3481d8d27 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/utils.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/utils.go
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants"
 	kubeadmconstants "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/constants"
 	kubeadmutil "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util"
-	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/kustomize"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/patches"
 )
 
@@ -150,38 +149,6 @@ func GetExtraParameters(overrides map[string]string, defaults map[string]string)
 	return command
 }
 
-// KustomizeStaticPod applies patches defined in kustomizeDir to a static Pod manifest
-func KustomizeStaticPod(pod *v1.Pod, kustomizeDir string) (*v1.Pod, error) {
-	// marshal the pod manifest into yaml
-	serialized, err := kubeadmutil.MarshalToYaml(pod, v1.SchemeGroupVersion)
-	if err != nil {
-		return pod, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to marshal manifest to YAML")
-	}
-
-	km, err := kustomize.GetManager(kustomizeDir)
-	if err != nil {
-		return pod, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to GetPatches from %q", kustomizeDir)
-	}
-
-	kustomized, err := km.Kustomize(serialized)
-	if err != nil {
-		return pod, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to kustomize static Pod manifest")
-	}
-
-	// unmarshal kustomized yaml back into a pod manifest
-	obj, err := kubeadmutil.UnmarshalFromYaml(kustomized, v1.SchemeGroupVersion)
-	if err != nil {
-		return pod, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to unmarshal kustomize manifest from YAML")
-	}
-
-	pod2, ok := obj.(*v1.Pod)
-	if !ok {
-		return pod, errors.Wrap(err, "kustomized manifest is not a valid Pod object")
-	}
-
-	return pod2, nil
-}
-
 // PatchStaticPod applies patches stored in patchesDir to a static Pod.
 func PatchStaticPod(pod *v1.Pod, patchesDir string, output io.Writer) (*v1.Pod, error) {
 	// Marshal the Pod manifest into YAML.
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/utils_test.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/utils_test.go
index 23b88271d6d..dfb0eafc85b 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/utils_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/util/staticpod/utils_test.go
@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"testing"
 
-	"github.com/lithammer/dedent"
-
 	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	kubeadmapi "k8s.io/kubernetes/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm"
@@ -756,47 +754,6 @@ func TestManifestFilesAreEqual(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestKustomizeStaticPod(t *testing.T) {
-	// Create temp folder for the test case
-	tmpdir := testutil.SetupTempDir(t)
-	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpdir)
-
-	patchString := dedent.Dedent(`
-    apiVersion: v1
-    kind: Pod
-    metadata:
-        name: kube-apiserver
-        namespace: kube-system
-        annotations:
-            kustomize: patch for kube-apiserver
-    `)
-
-	err := ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tmpdir, "patch.yaml"), []byte(patchString), 0644)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("WriteFile returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	pod := &v1.Pod{
-		TypeMeta: metav1.TypeMeta{
-			APIVersion: "v1",
-			Kind:       "Pod",
-		},
-		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Name:      "kube-apiserver",
-			Namespace: "kube-system",
-		},
-	}
-
-	kpod, err := KustomizeStaticPod(pod, tmpdir)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Errorf("KustomizeStaticPod returned unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	if _, ok := kpod.ObjectMeta.Annotations["kustomize"]; !ok {
-		t.Error("Kustomize did not apply patches corresponding to the resource")
-	}
-}
-
 func TestPatchStaticPod(t *testing.T) {
 	type file struct {
 		name string
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 81ebade82a0..78aef7ba3b5 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -139,7 +139,6 @@ require (
 	k8s.io/sample-apiserver v0.0.0
 	k8s.io/system-validators v1.2.0
 	k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20200729134348-d5654de09c73
-	sigs.k8s.io/kustomize v2.0.3+incompatible
 	sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.2.0
 )
 
diff --git a/vendor/modules.txt b/vendor/modules.txt
index 172ef7890fa..4240d4e3d50 100644
--- a/vendor/modules.txt
+++ b/vendor/modules.txt
@@ -2497,7 +2497,6 @@ k8s.io/utils/trace
 sigs.k8s.io/apiserver-network-proxy/konnectivity-client/pkg/client
 sigs.k8s.io/apiserver-network-proxy/konnectivity-client/proto/client
 # sigs.k8s.io/kustomize v2.0.3+incompatible => sigs.k8s.io/kustomize v2.0.3+incompatible
-## explicit
 # sigs.k8s.io/kustomize => sigs.k8s.io/kustomize v2.0.3+incompatible
 sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/commands/build
 sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/pkg/constants