diff --git a/drivers/spi/spi-mxs.c b/drivers/spi/spi-mxs.c
index d7b3e4311f72..de7b1141b90f 100644
--- a/drivers/spi/spi-mxs.c
+++ b/drivers/spi/spi-mxs.c
@@ -67,13 +67,8 @@ static int mxs_spi_setup_transfer(struct spi_device *dev,
 {
 	struct mxs_spi *spi = spi_master_get_devdata(dev->master);
 	struct mxs_ssp *ssp = &spi->ssp;
-	uint8_t bits_per_word;
 	uint32_t hz = 0;
 
-	bits_per_word = dev->bits_per_word;
-	if (t && t->bits_per_word)
-		bits_per_word = t->bits_per_word;
-
 	hz = dev->max_speed_hz;
 	if (t && t->speed_hz)
 		hz = min(hz, t->speed_hz);