diff --git a/data-workflows/plugin/processor.py b/data-workflows/plugin/processor.py
index 4f59e6d72..7721407e8 100644
--- a/data-workflows/plugin/processor.py
+++ b/data-workflows/plugin/processor.py
@@ -37,8 +37,24 @@ def _is_new_plugin(plugin_version_pair):
 
     futures.wait(update_futures, return_when="ALL_COMPLETED")
 
+    def _mark_version_stale(name, version) -> None:
+        logger.info(f"Updating old plugin={name} version={version}")
+        put_plugin_metadata(
+            plugin=name,
+            version=version,
+            plugin_metadata_type=PluginMetadataType.PYPI,
+        )
+
     # update for removed plugins and existing older version of plugins
     for name, version in dynamo_latest_plugins.items():
+        if name != (normalized := pypi_adapter.normalize(name)):
+            logger.info(
+                f"Found non-normalized name, will be removed plugin={name} "
+                f"(normalized={normalized})"
+            )
+            _mark_version_stale(name, version)
+            continue
+
         pypi_plugin_version = pypi_latest_plugins.get(name)
         if pypi_plugin_version == version:
             continue
@@ -50,22 +66,11 @@ def _is_new_plugin(plugin_version_pair):
             )
             continue
 
-        logger.info(f"Updating old plugin={name} version={version}")
-        put_plugin_metadata(
-            plugin=name,
-            version=version,
-            plugin_metadata_type=PluginMetadataType.PYPI,
-        )
+        _mark_version_stale(name, version)
 
         if pypi_plugin_version is None:
-            logger.info(f"Plugin no longer on hub: plugin={name}")
-            if name == pypi_adapter.pypi_name_normalize(name):
-                zulip.plugin_no_longer_on_hub(name)
-            else:
-                logger.info(
-                    f"Skipping zulip removal notification plugin={name}, "
-                    "name is not normalized, so likely a duplicate plugin."
-                )
+            logger.info(f"Plugin={name} will be removed from hub")
+            zulip.plugin_no_longer_on_hub(name)
 
 
 def _update_for_new_plugin(name: str, version: str, old_version: Optional[str]) -> None:
diff --git a/napari-hub-commons/src/nhcommons/tests/utils/test_pypi_adapter.py b/napari-hub-commons/src/nhcommons/tests/utils/test_pypi_adapter.py
index ca2f5a0e3..8a873bc69 100644
--- a/napari-hub-commons/src/nhcommons/tests/utils/test_pypi_adapter.py
+++ b/napari-hub-commons/src/nhcommons/tests/utils/test_pypi_adapter.py
@@ -149,7 +149,10 @@ def _mocked_requests_get(self, *args, **kwargs):
         return MockResponse(status_code=requests.codes.not_found)
 
     def test_get_all_plugins(self):
-        expected = {plugin[0]: plugin[1] for plugin in plugins()}
+        expected = {
+            pypi_adapter.normalize(plugin[0]): plugin[1]
+            for plugin in plugins()
+        }
         assert expected == pypi_adapter.get_all_plugins()
 
     @pytest.mark.parametrize(
diff --git a/napari-hub-commons/src/nhcommons/utils/pypi_adapter.py b/napari-hub-commons/src/nhcommons/utils/pypi_adapter.py
index decc664f1..d5d39187d 100644
--- a/napari-hub-commons/src/nhcommons/utils/pypi_adapter.py
+++ b/napari-hub-commons/src/nhcommons/utils/pypi_adapter.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-def pypi_name_normalize(name: str) -> str:
+def normalize(name: str) -> str:
     """
     Normalize the plugin name to lowercase and replace special characters with hyphen.
 
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ def get_all_plugins() -> Dict[str, str]:
     packages = get_request(_NPE2API_URL + "/plugins").json()
     logger.info(f"Total number of napari plugins fetched={len(packages)}")
     return {
-        pypi_name_normalize(name): version
+        normalize(name): version
         for name, version in packages.items()
     }