diff --git a/params/params.go b/params/params.go
index 64a53984..43d1dd92 100644
--- a/params/params.go
+++ b/params/params.go
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ func (p Pool) MaxRunnersAsInt() int {
 	return int(p.MaxRunners)
 }
 
-func (p Pool) GithubEntity() (GithubEntity, error) {
+func (p Pool) GetEntity() (GithubEntity, error) {
 	switch p.PoolType() {
 	case GithubEntityTypeRepository:
 		return GithubEntity{
@@ -489,7 +489,7 @@ type ScaleSet struct {
 	LastMessageID int64 `json:"-"`
 }
 
-func (p ScaleSet) GithubEntity() (GithubEntity, error) {
+func (p ScaleSet) GetEntity() (GithubEntity, error) {
 	switch p.ScaleSetType() {
 	case GithubEntityTypeRepository:
 		return GithubEntity{
diff --git a/runner/common/pool.go b/runner/common/pool.go
index 68a7ddf0..18f46a9d 100644
--- a/runner/common/pool.go
+++ b/runner/common/pool.go
@@ -54,13 +54,6 @@ type PoolManager interface {
 	// for it and call this function with the WorkflowJob as a parameter.
 	HandleWorkflowJob(job params.WorkflowJob) error
 
-	// DeleteRunner will attempt to remove a runner from the pool. If forceRemove is true, any error
-	// received from the provider will be ignored and we will proceed to remove the runner from the database.
-	// An error received while attempting to remove from GitHub (other than 404) will still stop the deletion
-	// process. This can happen if the runner is already processing a job. At which point, you can simply cancel
-	// the job in github. Doing so will prompt GARM to reap the runner automatically.
-	DeleteRunner(runner params.Instance, forceRemove, bypassGHUnauthorizedError bool) error
-
 	// InstallWebhook will create a webhook in github for the entity associated with this pool manager.
 	InstallWebhook(ctx context.Context, param params.InstallWebhookParams) (params.HookInfo, error)
 	// GetWebhookInfo will return information about the webhook installed in github for the entity associated
@@ -74,6 +67,8 @@ type PoolManager interface {
 	// may use internal or self signed certificates.
 	RootCABundle() (params.CertificateBundle, error)
 
+	SetPoolRunningState(isRunning bool, failureReason string)
+
 	// Start will start the pool manager and all associated workers.
 	Start() error
 	// Stop will stop the pool manager and all associated workers.
diff --git a/runner/common/util.go b/runner/common/util.go
index ee5110e1..7dbec688 100644
--- a/runner/common/util.go
+++ b/runner/common/util.go
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ type GithubEntityOperations interface {
 	PingEntityHook(ctx context.Context, id int64) (ret *github.Response, err error)
 	ListEntityRunners(ctx context.Context, opts *github.ListOptions) (*github.Runners, *github.Response, error)
 	ListEntityRunnerApplicationDownloads(ctx context.Context) ([]*github.RunnerApplicationDownload, *github.Response, error)
-	RemoveEntityRunner(ctx context.Context, runnerID int64) (*github.Response, error)
+	RemoveEntityRunner(ctx context.Context, runnerID int64) error
 	CreateEntityRegistrationToken(ctx context.Context) (*github.RegistrationToken, *github.Response, error)
 	GetEntityJITConfig(ctx context.Context, instance string, pool params.Pool, labels []string) (jitConfigMap map[string]string, runner *github.Runner, err error)
 
diff --git a/runner/metadata.go b/runner/metadata.go
index 0be41fc7..1d75fba4 100644
--- a/runner/metadata.go
+++ b/runner/metadata.go
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ func (r *Runner) GetRunnerServiceName(ctx context.Context) (string, error) {
 				"pool_id", instance.PoolID)
 			return "", errors.Wrap(err, "fetching pool")
 		}
-		entity, err = pool.GithubEntity()
+		entity, err = pool.GetEntity()
 		if err != nil {
 			slog.With(slog.Any("error", err)).ErrorContext(
 				ctx, "failed to get pool entity",
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ func (r *Runner) GetRunnerServiceName(ctx context.Context) (string, error) {
 				"scale_set_id", instance.ScaleSetID)
 			return "", errors.Wrap(err, "fetching scale set")
 		}
-		entity, err = scaleSet.GithubEntity()
+		entity, err = scaleSet.GetEntity()
 		if err != nil {
 			slog.With(slog.Any("error", err)).ErrorContext(
 				ctx, "failed to get scale set entity",
diff --git a/runner/pool/pool.go b/runner/pool/pool.go
index 88be9e97..f17ba15f 100644
--- a/runner/pool/pool.go
+++ b/runner/pool/pool.go
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ func (r *basePoolManager) startLoopForFunction(f func() error, interval time.Dur
 						r.ctx, "error in loop",
 						"loop_name", name)
 					if errors.Is(err, runnerErrors.ErrUnauthorized) {
-						r.setPoolRunningState(false, err.Error())
+						r.SetPoolRunningState(false, err.Error())
 					}
 				}
 			case <-r.ctx.Done():
@@ -380,7 +380,7 @@ func (r *basePoolManager) updateTools() error {
 	if err != nil {
 		slog.With(slog.Any("error", err)).ErrorContext(
 			r.ctx, "failed to update tools for entity", "entity", r.entity.String())
-		r.setPoolRunningState(false, err.Error())
+		r.SetPoolRunningState(false, err.Error())
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to update tools for entity %s: %w", r.entity.String(), err)
 	}
 	r.mux.Lock()
@@ -388,7 +388,7 @@ func (r *basePoolManager) updateTools() error {
 	r.mux.Unlock()
 
 	slog.DebugContext(r.ctx, "successfully updated tools")
-	r.setPoolRunningState(true, "")
+	r.SetPoolRunningState(true, "")
 	return err
 }
 
@@ -565,16 +565,19 @@ func (r *basePoolManager) cleanupOrphanedGithubRunners(runners []*github.Runner)
 			slog.InfoContext(
 				r.ctx, "Runner has no database entry in garm, removing from github",
 				"runner_name", runner.GetName())
-			resp, err := r.ghcli.RemoveEntityRunner(r.ctx, runner.GetID())
-			if err != nil {
+			if err := r.ghcli.RemoveEntityRunner(r.ctx, runner.GetID()); err != nil {
 				// Removed in the meantime?
-				if resp != nil && resp.StatusCode == http.StatusNotFound {
+				if errors.Is(err, runnerErrors.ErrNotFound) {
 					continue
 				}
 				return errors.Wrap(err, "removing runner")
 			}
 			continue
 		}
+		if dbInstance.ScaleSetID != 0 {
+			// ignore scale set instances.
+			continue
+		}
 
 		switch dbInstance.Status {
 		case commonParams.InstancePendingDelete, commonParams.InstanceDeleting:
@@ -650,10 +653,9 @@ func (r *basePoolManager) cleanupOrphanedGithubRunners(runners []*github.Runner)
 				slog.InfoContext(
 					r.ctx, "Runner instance is no longer on the provider, removing from github",
 					"runner_name", dbInstance.Name)
-				resp, err := r.ghcli.RemoveEntityRunner(r.ctx, runner.GetID())
-				if err != nil {
+				if err := r.ghcli.RemoveEntityRunner(r.ctx, runner.GetID()); err != nil {
 					// Removed in the meantime?
-					if resp != nil && resp.StatusCode == http.StatusNotFound {
+					if errors.Is(err, runnerErrors.ErrNotFound) {
 						slog.DebugContext(
 							r.ctx, "runner disappeared from github",
 							"runner_name", dbInstance.Name)
@@ -806,7 +808,7 @@ func (r *basePoolManager) AddRunner(ctx context.Context, poolID string, aditiona
 			}
 
 			if runner != nil {
-				_, runnerCleanupErr := r.ghcli.RemoveEntityRunner(r.ctx, runner.GetID())
+				runnerCleanupErr := r.ghcli.RemoveEntityRunner(r.ctx, runner.GetID())
 				if err != nil {
 					slog.With(slog.Any("error", runnerCleanupErr)).ErrorContext(
 						ctx, "failed to remove runner",
@@ -840,7 +842,7 @@ func (r *basePoolManager) waitForTimeoutOrCancelled(timeout time.Duration) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (r *basePoolManager) setPoolRunningState(isRunning bool, failureReason string) {
+func (r *basePoolManager) SetPoolRunningState(isRunning bool, failureReason string) {
 	r.mux.Lock()
 	r.managerErrorReason = failureReason
 	r.managerIsRunning = isRunning
@@ -1660,45 +1662,22 @@ func (r *basePoolManager) DeleteRunner(runner params.Instance, forceRemove, bypa
 	if !r.managerIsRunning && !bypassGHUnauthorizedError {
 		return runnerErrors.NewConflictError("pool manager is not running for %s", r.entity.String())
 	}
+
 	if runner.AgentID != 0 {
-		resp, err := r.ghcli.RemoveEntityRunner(r.ctx, runner.AgentID)
-		if err != nil {
-			if resp != nil {
-				switch resp.StatusCode {
-				case http.StatusUnprocessableEntity:
-					return errors.Wrapf(runnerErrors.ErrBadRequest, "removing runner: %q", err)
-				case http.StatusNotFound:
-					// Runner may have been deleted by a finished job, or manually by the user.
-					slog.DebugContext(
-						r.ctx, "runner was not found in github",
-						"agent_id", runner.AgentID)
-				case http.StatusUnauthorized:
-					slog.With(slog.Any("error", err)).ErrorContext(r.ctx, "failed to remove runner from github")
-					// Mark the pool as offline from this point forward
-					r.setPoolRunningState(false, fmt.Sprintf("failed to remove runner: %q", err))
-					slog.With(slog.Any("error", err)).ErrorContext(
-						r.ctx, "failed to remove runner")
-					if bypassGHUnauthorizedError {
-						slog.Info("bypass github unauthorized error is set, marking runner for deletion")
-						break
-					}
-					// evaluate the next switch case.
-					fallthrough
-				default:
+		if err := r.ghcli.RemoveEntityRunner(r.ctx, runner.AgentID); err != nil {
+			if errors.Is(err, runnerErrors.ErrUnauthorized) {
+				slog.With(slog.Any("error", err)).ErrorContext(r.ctx, "failed to remove runner from github")
+				// Mark the pool as offline from this point forward
+				r.SetPoolRunningState(false, fmt.Sprintf("failed to remove runner: %q", err))
+				slog.With(slog.Any("error", err)).ErrorContext(
+					r.ctx, "failed to remove runner")
+				if bypassGHUnauthorizedError {
+					slog.Info("bypass github unauthorized error is set, marking runner for deletion")
+				} else {
 					return errors.Wrap(err, "removing runner")
 				}
 			} else {
-				errResp := &github.ErrorResponse{}
-				if errors.As(err, &errResp) {
-					if errResp.Response != nil && errResp.Response.StatusCode == http.StatusUnauthorized && bypassGHUnauthorizedError {
-						slog.Info("bypass github unauthorized error is set, marking runner for deletion")
-					} else {
-						return errors.Wrap(err, "removing runner")
-					}
-				} else {
-					// We got a nil response. Assume we are in error.
-					return errors.Wrap(err, "removing runner")
-				}
+				return errors.Wrap(err, "removing runner")
 			}
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/runner/pool/stub_client.go b/runner/pool/stub_client.go
index d291e736..7a82567f 100644
--- a/runner/pool/stub_client.go
+++ b/runner/pool/stub_client.go
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ func (s *stubGithubClient) ListEntityRunnerApplicationDownloads(_ context.Contex
 	return nil, nil, s.err
 }
 
-func (s *stubGithubClient) RemoveEntityRunner(_ context.Context, _ int64) (*github.Response, error) {
-	return nil, s.err
+func (s *stubGithubClient) RemoveEntityRunner(_ context.Context, _ int64) error {
+	return s.err
 }
 
 func (s *stubGithubClient) CreateEntityRegistrationToken(_ context.Context) (*github.RegistrationToken, *github.Response, error) {
diff --git a/runner/pools.go b/runner/pools.go
index f2eb3c25..15aecb5e 100644
--- a/runner/pools.go
+++ b/runner/pools.go
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ func (r *Runner) UpdatePoolByID(ctx context.Context, poolID string, param params
 		return params.Pool{}, runnerErrors.NewBadRequestError("min_idle_runners cannot be larger than max_runners")
 	}
 
-	entity, err := pool.GithubEntity()
+	entity, err := pool.GetEntity()
 	if err != nil {
 		return params.Pool{}, errors.Wrap(err, "getting entity")
 	}
diff --git a/runner/runner.go b/runner/runner.go
index 5c0883aa..4032a94c 100644
--- a/runner/runner.go
+++ b/runner/runner.go
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cloudbase/garm/runner/common"
 	"github.com/cloudbase/garm/runner/pool"
 	"github.com/cloudbase/garm/runner/providers"
+	"github.com/cloudbase/garm/util/github"
+	"github.com/cloudbase/garm/util/github/scalesets"
 )
 
 func NewRunner(ctx context.Context, cfg config.Config, db dbCommon.Store) (*Runner, error) {
@@ -849,13 +851,92 @@ func (r *Runner) DeleteRunner(ctx context.Context, instanceName string, forceDel
 		return runnerErrors.NewBadRequestError("runner must be in one of the following states: %q", strings.Join(validStates, ", "))
 	}
 
-	poolMgr, err := r.getPoolManagerFromInstance(ctx, instance)
+	ghCli, ssCli, err := r.getGHCliFromInstance(ctx, instance)
 	if err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrap(err, "fetching pool manager for instance")
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "fetching github client")
 	}
 
-	if err := poolMgr.DeleteRunner(instance, forceDelete, bypassGithubUnauthorized); err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrap(err, "removing runner")
+	if instance.AgentID != 0 {
+		if instance.ScaleSetID != 0 {
+			err = ssCli.RemoveRunner(ctx, instance.AgentID)
+		} else if instance.PoolID != "" {
+			err = ghCli.RemoveEntityRunner(ctx, instance.AgentID)
+		} else {
+			return errors.New("instance does not have a pool or scale set")
+		}
+
+		if err != nil {
+			if errors.Is(err, runnerErrors.ErrUnauthorized) && instance.PoolID != "" {
+				poolMgr, err := r.getPoolManagerFromInstance(ctx, instance)
+				if err != nil {
+					return errors.Wrap(err, "fetching pool manager for instance")
+				}
+				poolMgr.SetPoolRunningState(false, fmt.Sprintf("failed to remove runner: %q", err))
+			}
+			if !bypassGithubUnauthorized {
+				return errors.Wrap(err, "removing runner from github")
+			}
+		}
 	}
+
+	instanceStatus := commonParams.InstancePendingDelete
+	if forceDelete {
+		instanceStatus = commonParams.InstancePendingForceDelete
+	}
+
+	slog.InfoContext(
+		r.ctx, "setting instance status",
+		"runner_name", instance.Name,
+		"status", instanceStatus)
+
+	updateParams := params.UpdateInstanceParams{
+		Status: instanceStatus,
+	}
+	_, err = r.store.UpdateInstance(r.ctx, instance.Name, updateParams)
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "updating runner state")
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
+
+func (r *Runner) getGHCliFromInstance(ctx context.Context, instance params.Instance) (common.GithubClient, *scalesets.ScaleSetClient, error) {
+	// TODO(gabriel-samfira): We can probably cache the entity.
+	var entityGetter params.EntityGetter
+	var err error
+	if instance.PoolID != "" {
+		entityGetter, err = r.store.GetPoolByID(ctx, instance.PoolID)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "fetching pool")
+		}
+	} else if instance.ScaleSetID != 0 {
+		entityGetter, err = r.store.GetScaleSetByID(ctx, instance.ScaleSetID)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "fetching scale set")
+		}
+	} else {
+		return nil, nil, errors.New("instance does not have a pool or scale set")
+	}
+
+	entity, err := entityGetter.GetEntity()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "fetching entity")
+	}
+
+	// Fetching the entity from the database will populate all fields, including credentials.
+	entity, err = r.store.GetGithubEntity(ctx, entity.EntityType, entity.ID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "fetching entity")
+	}
+
+	ghCli, err := github.Client(ctx, entity)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "creating github client")
+	}
+
+	scaleSetCli, err := scalesets.NewClient(ghCli)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "creating scaleset client")
+	}
+	return ghCli, scaleSetCli, nil
+}
diff --git a/runner/scalesets.go b/runner/scalesets.go
index ef45a783..7b93a662 100644
--- a/runner/scalesets.go
+++ b/runner/scalesets.go
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ func (r *Runner) DeleteScaleSetByID(ctx context.Context, scaleSetID uint) error
 		return runnerErrors.NewBadRequestError("scale set is enabled; disable it first")
 	}
 
-	paramEntity, err := scaleSet.GithubEntity()
+	paramEntity, err := scaleSet.GetEntity()
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "getting entity")
 	}
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ func (r *Runner) UpdateScaleSetByID(ctx context.Context, scaleSetID uint, param
 		return params.ScaleSet{}, runnerErrors.NewBadRequestError("min_idle_runners cannot be larger than max_runners")
 	}
 
-	paramEntity, err := scaleSet.GithubEntity()
+	paramEntity, err := scaleSet.GetEntity()
 	if err != nil {
 		return params.ScaleSet{}, errors.Wrap(err, "getting entity")
 	}
diff --git a/util/github/client.go b/util/github/client.go
index ae0b6485..50f97d39 100644
--- a/util/github/client.go
+++ b/util/github/client.go
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ func (g *githubClient) ListEntityRunnerApplicationDownloads(ctx context.Context)
 	return ret, response, err
 }
 
-func (g *githubClient) RemoveEntityRunner(ctx context.Context, runnerID int64) (*github.Response, error) {
+func (g *githubClient) RemoveEntityRunner(ctx context.Context, runnerID int64) error {
 	var response *github.Response
 	var err error
 
@@ -251,10 +251,36 @@ func (g *githubClient) RemoveEntityRunner(ctx context.Context, runnerID int64) (
 	case params.GithubEntityTypeEnterprise:
 		response, err = g.enterprise.RemoveRunner(ctx, g.entity.Owner, runnerID)
 	default:
-		return nil, errors.New("invalid entity type")
+		return errors.New("invalid entity type")
 	}
 
-	return response, err
+	switch response.StatusCode {
+	case http.StatusNotFound:
+		return runnerErrors.NewNotFoundError("runner %d not found", runnerID)
+	case http.StatusUnauthorized:
+		return runnerErrors.ErrUnauthorized
+	case http.StatusUnprocessableEntity:
+		return runnerErrors.NewBadRequestError("cannot remove runner %d in its current state", runnerID)
+	default:
+		if err != nil {
+			errResp := &github.ErrorResponse{}
+			if errors.As(err, &errResp) && errResp.Response != nil {
+				switch errResp.Response.StatusCode {
+				case http.StatusNotFound:
+					return runnerErrors.NewNotFoundError("runner %d not found", runnerID)
+				case http.StatusUnauthorized:
+					return runnerErrors.ErrUnauthorized
+				case http.StatusUnprocessableEntity:
+					return runnerErrors.NewBadRequestError("cannot remove runner %d in its current state", runnerID)
+				default:
+					return errors.Wrap(err, "removing runner")
+				}
+			}
+			return errors.Wrap(err, "removing runner")
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
 }
 
 func (g *githubClient) CreateEntityRegistrationToken(ctx context.Context) (*github.RegistrationToken, *github.Response, error) {
@@ -417,7 +443,7 @@ func (g *githubClient) GetEntityJITConfig(ctx context.Context, instance string,
 
 	defer func(run *github.Runner) {
 		if err != nil && run != nil {
-			_, innerErr := g.RemoveEntityRunner(ctx, run.GetID())
+			innerErr := g.RemoveEntityRunner(ctx, run.GetID())
 			slog.With(slog.Any("error", innerErr)).ErrorContext(
 				ctx, "failed to remove runner",
 				"runner_id", run.GetID(), string(g.entity.EntityType), g.entity.String())
diff --git a/workers/provider/instance_manager.go b/workers/provider/instance_manager.go
index c20c75ae..c784b41f 100644
--- a/workers/provider/instance_manager.go
+++ b/workers/provider/instance_manager.go
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import (
 func NewInstanceManager(ctx context.Context, instance params.Instance, scaleSet params.ScaleSet, provider common.Provider, helper providerHelper) (*instanceManager, error) {
 	ctx = garmUtil.WithSlogContext(ctx, slog.Any("instance", instance.Name))
 
-	githubEntity, err := scaleSet.GithubEntity()
+	githubEntity, err := scaleSet.GetEntity()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("getting github entity: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ func (i *instanceManager) incrementBackOff() {
 }
 
 func (i *instanceManager) getEntity() (params.GithubEntity, error) {
-	entity, err := i.scaleSet.GithubEntity()
+	entity, err := i.scaleSet.GetEntity()
 	if err != nil {
 		return params.GithubEntity{}, fmt.Errorf("getting entity: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -276,6 +276,9 @@ func (i *instanceManager) handleDeleteInstanceInProvider(instance params.Instanc
 func (i *instanceManager) consolidateState() error {
 	i.mux.Lock()
 	defer i.mux.Unlock()
+	if !i.running {
+		return nil
+	}
 
 	switch i.instance.Status {
 	case commonParams.InstancePendingCreate:
@@ -305,6 +308,7 @@ func (i *instanceManager) consolidateState() error {
 			}
 		}
 
+		prevStatus := i.instance.Status
 		if err := i.helper.SetInstanceStatus(i.instance.Name, commonParams.InstanceDeleting, nil); err != nil {
 			if errors.Is(err, runnerErrors.ErrNotFound) {
 				return nil
@@ -314,7 +318,7 @@ func (i *instanceManager) consolidateState() error {
 
 		if err := i.handleDeleteInstanceInProvider(i.instance); err != nil {
 			slog.ErrorContext(i.ctx, "deleting instance in provider", "error", err, "forced", i.instance.Status == commonParams.InstancePendingForceDelete)
-			if i.instance.Status == commonParams.InstancePendingDelete {
+			if prevStatus == commonParams.InstancePendingDelete {
 				i.incrementBackOff()
 				if err := i.helper.SetInstanceStatus(i.instance.Name, commonParams.InstancePendingDelete, []byte(err.Error())); err != nil {
 					return fmt.Errorf("setting instance status to error: %w", err)
@@ -324,8 +328,11 @@ func (i *instanceManager) consolidateState() error {
 			}
 		}
 		if err := i.helper.SetInstanceStatus(i.instance.Name, commonParams.InstanceDeleted, nil); err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("setting instance status to deleted: %w", err)
+			if !errors.Is(err, runnerErrors.ErrNotFound) {
+				return fmt.Errorf("setting instance status to deleted: %w", err)
+			}
 		}
+		return ErrInstanceDeleted
 	case commonParams.InstanceError:
 		// Instance is in error state. We wait for next status or potentially retry
 		// spawning the instance with a backoff timer.
@@ -343,26 +350,23 @@ func (i *instanceManager) handleUpdate(update dbCommon.ChangePayload) error {
 	// end up with an inconsistent state between what we know about the instance and what
 	// is reflected in the database.
 	i.mux.Lock()
+	defer i.mux.Unlock()
 
 	if !i.running {
-		i.mux.Unlock()
 		return nil
 	}
 
 	instance, ok := update.Payload.(params.Instance)
 	if !ok {
-		i.mux.Unlock()
 		return runnerErrors.NewBadRequestError("invalid payload type")
 	}
 
 	i.instance = instance
 	if i.instance.Status == instance.Status {
 		// Nothing of interest happened.
-		i.mux.Unlock()
 		return nil
 	}
-	i.mux.Unlock()
-	return i.consolidateState()
+	return nil
 }
 
 func (i *instanceManager) Update(instance dbCommon.ChangePayload) error {
diff --git a/workers/provider/provider.go b/workers/provider/provider.go
index 07f65b26..0c2cf4df 100644
--- a/workers/provider/provider.go
+++ b/workers/provider/provider.go
@@ -88,6 +88,10 @@ func (p *provider) loadAllRunners() error {
 		if runner.Status == commonParams.InstanceCreating {
 			continue
 		}
+		if runner.Status == commonParams.InstanceDeleting || runner.Status == commonParams.InstanceDeleted {
+			continue
+		}
+
 		scaleSet, ok := p.scaleSets[runner.ScaleSetID]
 		if !ok {
 			slog.ErrorContext(p.ctx, "scale set not found", "scale_set_id", runner.ScaleSetID)
diff --git a/workers/scaleset/scaleset.go b/workers/scaleset/scaleset.go
index ba7701d7..a0a5d657 100644
--- a/workers/scaleset/scaleset.go
+++ b/workers/scaleset/scaleset.go
@@ -64,6 +64,14 @@ type Worker struct {
 	quit    chan struct{}
 }
 
+func (w *Worker) RunnersAndStatuses() map[string]string {
+	runners := make(map[string]string)
+	for _, runner := range w.runners {
+		runners[runner.Name] = string(runner.Status)
+	}
+	return runners
+}
+
 func (w *Worker) Stop() error {
 	slog.DebugContext(w.ctx, "stopping scale set worker", "scale_set", w.consumerID)
 	w.mux.Lock()
@@ -629,7 +637,7 @@ func (w *Worker) handleAutoScale() {
 	lastMsg := ""
 	lastMsgDebugLog := func(msg string, targetRunners, currentRunners uint) {
 		if lastMsg != msg {
-			slog.DebugContext(w.ctx, msg, "current_runners", currentRunners, "target_runners", targetRunners)
+			slog.DebugContext(w.ctx, msg, "current_runners", currentRunners, "target_runners", targetRunners, "current_runners", w.RunnersAndStatuses())
 			lastMsg = msg
 		}
 	}