diff --git a/src/librustc/session/config.rs b/src/librustc/session/config.rs
index d24da1ff7c8e5..f41765b642d96 100644
--- a/src/librustc/session/config.rs
+++ b/src/librustc/session/config.rs
@@ -1208,6 +1208,8 @@ options! {DebuggingOptions, DebuggingSetter, basic_debugging_options,
           "set the MIR optimization level (0-3, default: 1)"),
     mutable_noalias: bool = (false, parse_bool, [UNTRACKED],
           "emit noalias metadata for mutable references"),
+    arg_align_attributes: bool = (false, parse_bool, [UNTRACKED],
+          "emit align metadata for reference arguments"),
     dump_mir: Option<String> = (None, parse_opt_string, [UNTRACKED],
           "dump MIR state at various points in translation"),
     dump_mir_dir: String = (String::from("mir_dump"), parse_string, [UNTRACKED],
diff --git a/src/librustc_trans/abi.rs b/src/librustc_trans/abi.rs
index 44c18c371a40f..203e273c98eaa 100644
--- a/src/librustc_trans/abi.rs
+++ b/src/librustc_trans/abi.rs
@@ -779,7 +779,7 @@ impl<'a, 'tcx> FnType<'tcx> {
 
                     // HACK(eddyb) LLVM inserts `llvm.assume` calls when inlining functions
                     // with align attributes, and those calls later block optimizations.
-                    if !is_return {
+                    if !is_return && !cx.tcx.sess.opts.debugging_opts.arg_align_attributes {
                         attrs.pointee_align = None;
                     }