diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/ci.py b/lib/spack/spack/ci.py
index 320812cb638..5d894d95405 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/ci.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/ci.py
@@ -1095,7 +1095,7 @@ def generate_gitlab_ci_yaml(
                     raise AttributeError
 
                 def main_script_replacements(cmd):
-                    return cmd.replace("{env_dir}", concrete_env_dir)
+                    return cmd.replace("{env_dir}", rel_concrete_env_dir)
 
                 job_object["script"] = _unpack_script(
                     job_object["script"], op=main_script_replacements