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 c83b19a82d..6fd92101f6 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/builder/config.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/builder/config.ts
@@ -105,6 +105,8 @@ export async function makeRollupConfigs(
         chunkFileNames: `esm/[name]-[hash].esm.js`,
         format: 'module',
         sourcemap: true,
+        preserveModules: true,
+        preserveModulesRoot: `${targetDir}/src`,
       });
       // Assume we're building for the browser if ESM output is included
       mainFields.unshift('browser');