diff --git a/firehose/firehose.go b/firehose/firehose.go
index 48d22c5..b708bdc 100644
--- a/firehose/firehose.go
+++ b/firehose/firehose.go
@@ -60,7 +60,6 @@ type OutputPlugin struct {
 	client         PutRecordBatcher
 	records        []*firehose.Record
 	dataLength     int
-	backoff        *plugins.Backoff
 	timer          *plugins.Timeout
 	PluginID       int
 }
@@ -106,7 +105,6 @@ func NewOutputPlugin(region, deliveryStream, dataKeys, roleARN, endpoint, timeKe
 		client:         client,
 		records:        records,
 		dataKeys:       dataKeys,
-		backoff:        plugins.NewBackoff(),
 		timer:          timer,
 		timeKey:        timeKey,
 		fmtStrftime:    timeFormatter,
@@ -212,7 +210,6 @@ func (output *OutputPlugin) processRecord(record map[interface{}]interface{}) ([
 }
 
 func (output *OutputPlugin) sendCurrentBatch() error {
-	output.backoff.Wait()
 	output.timer.Check()
 
 	response, err := output.client.PutRecordBatch(&firehose.PutRecordBatchInput{
@@ -225,9 +222,6 @@ func (output *OutputPlugin) sendCurrentBatch() error {
 		if aerr, ok := err.(awserr.Error); ok {
 			if aerr.Code() == firehose.ErrCodeServiceUnavailableException {
 				logrus.Warnf("[firehose %d] Throughput limits for the delivery stream may have been exceeded.", output.PluginID)
-				// https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-go/api/service/firehose/#Firehose.PutRecordBatch
-				// Firehose recommends backoff when this error is encountered
-				output.backoff.StartBackoff()
 			}
 		}
 		return err
@@ -256,9 +250,7 @@ func (output *OutputPlugin) processAPIResponse(response *firehose.PutRecordBatch
 				failedRecords = append(failedRecords, output.records[i])
 			}
 			if aws.StringValue(record.ErrorCode) == firehose.ErrCodeServiceUnavailableException {
-				// https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-go/api/service/firehose/#Firehose.PutRecordBatch
-				// Firehose recommends backoff when this error is encountered
-				output.backoff.StartBackoff()
+				logrus.Warnf("[firehose %d] Throughput limits for the delivery stream may have been exceeded.", output.PluginID)
 			}
 		}
 
@@ -272,7 +264,6 @@ func (output *OutputPlugin) processAPIResponse(response *firehose.PutRecordBatch
 	} else {
 		// request fully succeeded
 		output.timer.Reset()
-		output.backoff.Reset()
 		output.records = output.records[:0]
 		output.dataLength = 0
 	}
diff --git a/plugins/plugins.go b/plugins/plugins.go
index 38f67dc..106c62c 100644
--- a/plugins/plugins.go
+++ b/plugins/plugins.go
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
-	retry "github.com/cenkalti/backoff"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
@@ -34,48 +33,6 @@ const (
 	maxInterval     = 10 * time.Second
 )
 
-// Backoff wraps github.com/cenkalti/backoff
-// Wait() is called for each AWS API call that may need back off
-// But backoff only occurs if StartBackoff() has previously been called
-// Reset() should be called whenever backoff can end.
-type Backoff struct {
-	doBackoff  bool
-	expBackoff *retry.ExponentialBackOff
-}
-
-// Reset ends the exponential backoff
-func (b *Backoff) Reset() {
-	b.doBackoff = false
-	b.expBackoff.Reset()
-}
-
-// Wait enacts the exponential backoff, if StartBackoff() has been called
-func (b *Backoff) Wait() {
-	if b.doBackoff {
-		d := b.expBackoff.NextBackOff()
-		logrus.Debugf("[go plugin] In exponential backoff, waiting %v", d)
-		time.Sleep(d)
-	}
-}
-
-// StartBackoff begins exponential backoff
-// its a no-op if backoff has already started
-func (b *Backoff) StartBackoff() {
-	b.doBackoff = true
-}
-
-// NewBackoff creates a new Backoff struct with default values
-func NewBackoff() *Backoff {
-	b := retry.NewExponentialBackOff()
-	b.InitialInterval = initialInterval
-	b.MaxElapsedTime = 0 // The backoff object never expires
-	b.MaxInterval = maxInterval
-	return &Backoff{
-		doBackoff:  false,
-		expBackoff: b,
-	}
-}
-
 // Timeout is a simple timeout for single-threaded programming
 // (Goroutines are expensive in Cgo)
 type Timeout struct {