diff --git a/drivers/hwmon/applesmc.c b/drivers/hwmon/applesmc.c
index 00e603b5e401..d0baa10502f7 100644
--- a/drivers/hwmon/applesmc.c
+++ b/drivers/hwmon/applesmc.c
@@ -1128,12 +1128,17 @@ static void applesmc_release_light_sensor(void)
 
 static int applesmc_create_key_backlight(void)
 {
+	int ret;
+
 	if (!smcreg.has_key_backlight)
 		return 0;
 	applesmc_led_wq = create_singlethread_workqueue("applesmc-led");
 	if (!applesmc_led_wq)
 		return -ENOMEM;
-	return led_classdev_register(&pdev->dev, &applesmc_backlight);
+	ret = led_classdev_register(&pdev->dev, &applesmc_backlight);
+	if (ret)
+		destroy_workqueue(applesmc_led_wq);
+	return ret;
 }
 
 static void applesmc_release_key_backlight(void)