diff --git a/pageserver/src/layered_repository.rs b/pageserver/src/layered_repository.rs
index 2c48295ad0..526d0c952f 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/layered_repository.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/layered_repository.rs
@@ -806,11 +806,11 @@ pub struct LayeredTimeline {
     /// Used to ensure that there is only one thread
     layer_flush_lock: Mutex<()>,
 
-    // Prevent concurrent checkpoints.
-    // Checkpoints are normally performed by one thread. But checkpoint can also be manually requested by admin
-    // (that's used in tests), and shutdown also forces a checkpoint. These forced checkpoints run in a different thread
-    // and could be triggered at the same time as a normal checkpoint.
-    checkpoint_cs: Mutex<()>,
+    // Prevent concurrent compactions.
+    // Compactions are normally performed by one thread. But compaction can also be manually
+    // requested by admin (that's used in tests). These forced compactions run in a different
+    // thread and could be triggered at the same time as a normal, timed compaction.
+    compaction_cs: Mutex<()>,
 
     // Needed to ensure that we can't create a branch at a point that was already garbage collected
     latest_gc_cutoff_lsn: RwLock<Lsn>,
@@ -1021,7 +1021,7 @@ impl LayeredTimeline {
 
             write_lock: Mutex::new(()),
             layer_flush_lock: Mutex::new(()),
-            checkpoint_cs: Mutex::new(()),
+            compaction_cs: Mutex::new(()),
 
             gc_info: RwLock::new(GcInfo {
                 retain_lsns: Vec::new(),
@@ -1557,6 +1557,7 @@ impl LayeredTimeline {
         // Below are functions compact_level0() and create_image_layers()
         // but they are a bit ad hoc and don't quite work like it's explained
         // above. Rewrite it.
+        let _compaction_cs = self.compaction_cs.lock().unwrap();
 
         let target_file_size = self.conf.checkpoint_distance;
 
@@ -1735,6 +1736,20 @@ impl LayeredTimeline {
             new_layers.push(writer.finish(prev_key.unwrap().next())?);
         }
 
+        // Sync layers
+        if !new_layers.is_empty() {
+            let mut layer_paths: Vec<PathBuf> = new_layers.iter().map(|l| l.path()).collect();
+
+            // also sync the directory
+            layer_paths.push(self.conf.timeline_path(&self.timelineid, &self.tenantid));
+
+            // Fsync all the layer files and directory using multiple threads to
+            // minimize latency.
+            par_fsync::par_fsync(&layer_paths)?;
+
+            layer_paths.pop().unwrap();
+        }
+
         let mut layers = self.layers.lock().unwrap();
         for l in new_layers {
             layers.insert_historic(Arc::new(l));
@@ -1783,7 +1798,8 @@ impl LayeredTimeline {
         let now = Instant::now();
         let mut result: GcResult = Default::default();
         let disk_consistent_lsn = self.get_disk_consistent_lsn();
-        let _checkpoint_cs = self.checkpoint_cs.lock().unwrap();
+
+        let _compaction_cs = self.compaction_cs.lock().unwrap();
 
         let gc_info = self.gc_info.read().unwrap();
         let retain_lsns = &gc_info.retain_lsns;