diff --git a/.changeset/green-adults-push.md b/.changeset/green-adults-push.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3edc21c385
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/green-adults-push.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/cli': patch
+---
+
+Add preserveModules to rollup, which allows better async loading and tree-shaking in webpack
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/builder/config.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/builder/config.ts
index 41e9dd6906..acb0d6691d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/builder/config.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/builder/config.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ export async function makeRollupConfigs(
         chunkFileNames: `esm/[name]-[hash].esm.js`,
         format: 'module',
         sourcemap: true,
+        preserveModules: true,
       });
       // Assume we're building for the browser if ESM output is included
       mainFields.unshift('browser');