diff --git a/src/gbm/Makefile.am b/src/gbm/Makefile.am
index 1282b147c27..9b3fb0d90cd 100644
--- a/src/gbm/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/gbm/Makefile.am
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = subdir-objects
+
 pkgconfigdir = $(libdir)/pkgconfig
 pkgconfig_DATA = main/gbm.pc