diff --git a/poetry/installation/installer.py b/poetry/installation/installer.py
index 8cef65d529b..b97c731e0fb 100644
--- a/poetry/installation/installer.py
+++ b/poetry/installation/installer.py
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ def __init__(
         self._verbose = False
         self._write_lock = True
         self._dev_mode = True
+        self._no_remove = not config.get("virtualenvs.create")
         self._execute_operations = True
         self._lock = False
 
@@ -512,6 +513,8 @@ def _filter_operations(
                 package = op.package
 
             if op.job_type == "uninstall":
+                if self._no_remove:
+                    op.skip("Not uninstalling because: virtualenvs.create==False")
                 continue
 
             if not self._env.is_valid_for_marker(package.marker):