diff --git a/.github/workflows/component-build.yml b/.github/workflows/component-build.yml
index 4187848..8bccb6c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/component-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/component-build.yml
@@ -41,10 +41,6 @@ on:
         required: false
         type: string
         description: 'Custom ECR repository name. If not specified, defaults to service-identifier'
-      slack-message-id:
-        required: false
-        type: string
-        description: 'Existing Slack message ID to update'
       git-sha:
         required: false
         type: string
@@ -58,9 +54,6 @@ on:
       AWS_ACCOUNT_ID:
         required: true
         description: 'AWS account id'
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app token'
       GHL_USERNAME:
         required: false
         description: 'Github Username (Required for Kotlin builds)'
@@ -122,16 +115,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           runner-size: ${{ inputs.runner-size }}
           architecture: arm64
-      - name: Update existing slack message
-        uses: monta-app/slack-notifier-cli-action@main
-        with:
-          job-type: "build"
-          job-status: "progress"
-          service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-          service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-          slack-app-token: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
-          slack-channel-id: "C01KL9FUPNK"
-          slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id }}
   build:
     name: Build Multi-Arch
     needs: setup
@@ -250,23 +233,3 @@ jobs:
             ${BASE_IMAGE}:latest-amd64 \
             ${BASE_IMAGE}:latest-arm64
           docker manifest push ${BASE_IMAGE}:latest
-  notify-build-finished:
-    name: Notify Build Finished
-    needs:
-      - setup
-      - build
-      - create-manifest
-    runs-on: linux-arm64
-    timeout-minutes: 5
-    if: always()
-    steps:
-      - name: Publish result message to slack
-        uses: monta-app/slack-notifier-cli-action@main
-        with:
-          job-type: "build"
-          job-status: ${{ needs.build.result }}
-          service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-          service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-          slack-app-token: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
-          slack-channel-id: "C01KL9FUPNK"
-          slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/component-deploy-v2.yml b/.github/workflows/component-deploy-v2.yml
index 02f5a8c..e8d898f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/component-deploy-v2.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/component-deploy-v2.yml
@@ -22,10 +22,6 @@ on:
         required: true
         type: string
         description: 'Docker image tag to deploy'
-      slack-message-id:
-        required: false
-        type: string
-        description: 'Existing Slack message ID to update'
       helm-values-path:
         required: false
         type: string
@@ -56,16 +52,10 @@ on:
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT:
         required: true
         description: 'GitHub personal access token'
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app token'
       ARGOCD_TOKEN:
         required: false
         description: 'ArgoCD authentication token (required if auto-sync is enabled)'
     outputs:
-      slack-message-id:
-        description: 'Slack message ID for subsequent updates'
-        value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       stage:
         description: 'Stage this was deployed to (dev,staging,production)'
         value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.stage }}
@@ -97,7 +87,6 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: linux-arm64
     timeout-minutes: 10
     outputs:
-      slack-message-id: ${{ steps.slack-update.outputs.message-id }}
       stage: ${{ inputs.stage }}
       docker-image: ${{ steps.capture-image-info.outputs.docker-image }}
       previous-image-tag: ${{ steps.capture-image-info.outputs.previous-image-tag }}
@@ -106,17 +95,6 @@ jobs:
       deployment-end-time: ${{ steps.argocd-sync.outputs.deployment-end-time }}
       deployment-url: ${{ steps.argocd-sync.outputs.deployment-url }}
     steps:
-      - name: Update existing slack message
-        id: slack-update
-        uses: monta-app/slack-notifier-cli-action@main
-        with:
-          job-type: "deploy"
-          job-status: "progress"
-          service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-          service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-          slack-app-token: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
-          slack-channel-id: "C01KL9FUPNK"
-          slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id }}
       - name: Check out service repository
         uses: actions/checkout@df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10 # v6
         with:
@@ -262,14 +240,3 @@ jobs:
           timeout: ${{ inputs.argocd-sync-wait-seconds }}
           manifest-repo: monta-app/${{ inputs.repository-name || format('service-{0}', inputs.service-identifier) }}
           github-token: ${{ secrets.MANIFEST_REPO_PAT }}
-      - name: Publish result message to slack
-        if: always()
-        uses: monta-app/slack-notifier-cli-action@main
-        with:
-          job-type: "deploy"
-          job-status: ${{ job.status }}
-          service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-          service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-          slack-app-token: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
-          slack-channel-id: "C01KL9FUPNK"
-          slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/component-deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/component-deploy.yml
index c4e8768..a588bcf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/component-deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/component-deploy.yml
@@ -22,10 +22,6 @@ on:
         required: true
         type: string
         description: 'Docker image tag to deploy'
-      slack-message-id:
-        required: false
-        type: string
-        description: 'Existing Slack message ID to update'
       argocd-server:
         required: false
         type: string
@@ -44,16 +40,10 @@ on:
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT:
         required: true
         description: 'GitHub personal access token'
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app token'
       ARGOCD_TOKEN:
         required: false
         description: 'ArgoCD authentication token (required if auto-sync is enabled in config.yaml)'
     outputs:
-      slack-message-id:
-        description: 'Slack message ID for subsequent updates'
-        value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       stage:
         description: 'Stage this was deployed to (dev,staging,production)'
         value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.stage }}
@@ -85,7 +75,6 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: linux-arm64
     timeout-minutes: 20
     outputs:
-      slack-message-id: ${{ steps.slack-update.outputs.message-id }}
       stage: ${{ inputs.stage }}
       docker-image: ${{ steps.update-image-tag.outputs.docker-image }}
       previous-image-tag: ${{ steps.update-image-tag.outputs.previous-image-tag }}
@@ -94,17 +83,6 @@ jobs:
       deployment-end-time: ${{ steps.argocd-sync.outputs.deployment-end-time }}
       deployment-url: ${{ steps.argocd-sync.outputs.deployment-url }}
     steps:
-      - name: Update existing slack message
-        id: slack-update
-        uses: monta-app/slack-notifier-cli-action@main
-        with:
-          job-type: "deploy"
-          job-status: "progress"
-          service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-          service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-          slack-app-token: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
-          slack-channel-id: "C01KL9FUPNK"
-          slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id }}
       - name: Check out manifest repository
         uses: actions/checkout@df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10 # v6
         with:
@@ -224,14 +202,3 @@ jobs:
           revision: ${{ steps.manifest-sha.outputs.sha }}
           timeout: ${{ inputs.argocd-sync-wait-seconds }}
           github-token: ${{ secrets.MANIFEST_REPO_PAT }}
-      - name: Publish result message to slack
-        if: always()
-        uses: monta-app/slack-notifier-cli-action@main
-        with:
-          job-type: "deploy"
-          job-status: ${{ job.status }}
-          service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-          service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-          slack-app-token: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
-          slack-channel-id: "C01KL9FUPNK"
-          slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/component-initialize.yml b/.github/workflows/component-initialize.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 10f0905..0000000
--- a/.github/workflows/component-initialize.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,71 +0,0 @@
-name: Initialize
-
-on:
-  workflow_call:
-    inputs:
-      service-name:
-        required: true
-        type: string
-        description: 'Proper name for your service i.e OCPP Service, Vehicle Service'
-      service-emoji:
-        required: true
-        type: string
-        description: 'An emoji to identify your service by :)'
-    secrets:
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app token'
-    outputs:
-      slack-message-id:
-        description: 'Slack message ID for subsequent updates'
-        value: ${{ jobs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
-      slack-channel-id:
-        description: 'Slack channel ID for subsequent updates'
-        value: ${{ jobs.initialize.outputs.slack-channel-id }}
-
-permissions:
-  contents: read
-
-jobs:
-  initialize:
-    name: Initialize
-    runs-on: linux-arm64
-    timeout-minutes: 5
-    outputs:
-      slack-message-id: ${{ steps.send-slack-message.outputs.slack-message-id }}
-      slack-channel-id: ${{ steps.send-slack-message.outputs.slack-channel-id }}
-    steps:
-      - name: Enrich event for workflow_dispatch
-        if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          # workflow_dispatch events don't include commit info, causing
-          # null Committer/Message/Change in Slack notifications.
-          # Fetch HEAD commit info and write a push-compatible event file
-          # so the slack-notifier-cli can parse it.
-          gh api "repos/${{ github.repository }}/commits/${{ github.sha }}" \
-            --jq '{
-              head_commit: {
-                id: .sha,
-                message: .commit.message,
-                author: .commit.author,
-                committer: .commit.committer
-              },
-              pusher: {
-                name: (.commit.author.name // "${{ github.triggering_actor }}"),
-                email: (.commit.author.email // "")
-              }
-            }' > "$GITHUB_EVENT_PATH"
-
-      - name: Send slack message
-        id: send-slack-message
-        uses: monta-app/slack-notifier-cli-action@main
-        with:
-          job-type: "test"
-          job-status: "progress"
-          service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-          service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-          slack-app-token: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
-          slack-channel-id: "C01KL9FUPNK"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/component-test-kotlin.yml b/.github/workflows/component-test-kotlin.yml
index 100a458..5f7e886 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/component-test-kotlin.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/component-test-kotlin.yml
@@ -33,10 +33,6 @@ on:
         type: string
         default: "--no-daemon --parallel"
         description: 'Additional Gradle arguments'
-      slack-message-id:
-        required: false
-        type: string
-        description: 'Slack message ID from initialization for updates'
     secrets:
       GHL_USERNAME:
         required: true
@@ -44,9 +40,6 @@ on:
       GHL_PASSWORD:
         required: true
         description: 'Github Password (Gradle plugin)'
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app token'
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
@@ -100,14 +93,3 @@ jobs:
             /home/runner/.gradle/daemon/**/daemon-*.out.log
           retention-days: 2
           overwrite: true
-      - name: Publish result message to slack
-        uses: monta-app/slack-notifier-cli-action@main
-        if: always()
-        with:
-          job-type: "test"
-          job-status: ${{ job.status }}
-          service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-          service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-          slack-app-token: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
-          slack-channel-id: "C01KL9FUPNK"
-          slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/component-test-python.yml b/.github/workflows/component-test-python.yml
index 6d6cbe6..4816de4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/component-test-python.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/component-test-python.yml
@@ -38,14 +38,7 @@ on:
         required: false
         type: string
         description: 'File path of the docker compose file'
-      slack-message-id:
-        required: false
-        type: string
-        description: 'Slack message ID from initialization for updates'
     secrets:
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app token'
       TEST_ENV_FILE:
         required: false
         description: 'Environment variables for tests in .env format'
@@ -118,15 +111,3 @@ jobs:
             pytest-report.html
           retention-days: 7
           overwrite: true
-
-      - name: Publish result message to slack
-        uses: monta-app/slack-notifier-cli-action@main
-        if: always()
-        with:
-          job-type: "test"
-          job-status: ${{ job.status }}
-          service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-          service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-          slack-app-token: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
-          slack-channel-id: "C01KL9FUPNK"
-          slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-generic-v2.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-generic-v2.yml
index e382f0d..8a435d9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-generic-v2.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-generic-v2.yml
@@ -51,10 +51,6 @@ on:
         required: false
         type: string
         description: 'File path of the docker compose file'
-      slack-message-id:
-        required: false
-        type: string
-        description: 'External Slack message ID to use for notifications (if not provided, initialize step will create one)'
       helm-values-path:
         required: false
         type: string
@@ -85,9 +81,6 @@ on:
       AWS_ACCOUNT_ID:
         required: true
         description: 'AWS Account ID for ECR and deployment access'
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app-level token for workflow notifications'
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT:
         required: true
         description: 'GitHub PAT to commit/push to kube-manifests repo'
@@ -114,9 +107,6 @@ on:
         description: 'Encryption key for Next.js Server Actions, passed as Docker build secret'
 
     outputs:
-      slack-message-id:
-        description: 'Slack message ID for deployment notifications'
-        value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       stage:
         description: 'Stage that was deployed to (dev,staging,production)'
         value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.stage }}
@@ -145,19 +135,8 @@ permissions:
   actions: read
 
 jobs:
-  initialize:
-    name: Initialize
-    if: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id == '' }}
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/component-initialize.yml
-    with:
-      service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-      service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-    secrets:
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
   build:
     name: Build
-    needs: initialize
-    if: ${{ always() && (needs.initialize.result == 'success' || needs.initialize.result == 'skipped') }}
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-build.yml
     with:
       runner-size: ${{ inputs.runner-size }}
@@ -169,12 +148,10 @@ jobs:
       docker-file-name: ${{ inputs.docker-file-name }}
       additional-build-args: ${{ inputs.additional-build-args }}
       ecr-repository-name: ${{ inputs.ecr-repository-name }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id || needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       git-sha: ${{ inputs.git-sha }}
       enable-buildkit-cache: ${{ inputs.enable-buildkit-cache }}
     secrets:
       AWS_ACCOUNT_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCOUNT_ID }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
       SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN }}
       FARO_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.FARO_API_KEY }}
       AWS_CDN_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_CDN_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
@@ -184,9 +161,8 @@ jobs:
   deploy:
     name: Deploy
     needs:
-      - initialize
       - build
-    if: ${{ always() && needs.build.result == 'success' && (needs.initialize.result == 'success' || needs.initialize.result == 'skipped') }}
+    if: ${{ always() && needs.build.result == 'success' }}
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-deploy-v2.yml
     with:
       service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
@@ -194,12 +170,10 @@ jobs:
       service-identifier: ${{ inputs.service-identifier }}
       stage: ${{ inputs.stage }}
       image-tag: ${{ needs.build.outputs.image-tag }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id || needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       helm-values-path: ${{ inputs.helm-values-path }}
       repository-name: ${{ inputs.repository-name }}
       argocd-server: ${{ inputs.argocd-server }}
       wait-for-argocd-sync: ${{ inputs.wait-for-argocd-sync }}
     secrets:
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT: ${{ secrets.MANIFEST_REPO_PAT }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
       ARGOCD_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ARGOCD_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-generic.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-generic.yml
index 7cd599e..968ba10 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-generic.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-generic.yml
@@ -51,10 +51,6 @@ on:
         required: false
         type: string
         description: 'File path of the docker compose file'
-      slack-message-id:
-        required: false
-        type: string
-        description: 'External Slack message ID to use for notifications (if not provided, initialize step will create one)'
       argocd-server:
         required: false
         type: string
@@ -72,9 +68,6 @@ on:
       AWS_ACCOUNT_ID:
         required: true
         description: 'AWS Account ID for ECR and deployment access'
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app-level token for workflow notifications'
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT:
         required: true
         description: 'GitHub PAT to commit/push to kube-manifests repo'
@@ -95,9 +88,6 @@ on:
         description: 'ArgoCD authentication token (required if auto-sync is enabled in config.yaml)'
 
     outputs:
-      slack-message-id:
-        description: 'Slack message ID for deployment notifications'
-        value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       stage:
         description: 'Stage that was deployed to (dev,staging,production)'
         value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.stage }}
@@ -126,19 +116,8 @@ permissions:
   actions: read
 
 jobs:
-  initialize:
-    name: Initialize
-    if: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id == '' }}
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/component-initialize.yml
-    with:
-      service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-      service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-    secrets:
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
   build:
     name: Build
-    needs: initialize
-    if: ${{ always() && (needs.initialize.result == 'success' || needs.initialize.result == 'skipped') }}
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-build.yml
     with:
       runner-size: ${{ inputs.runner-size }}
@@ -150,12 +129,10 @@ jobs:
       docker-file-name: ${{ inputs.docker-file-name }}
       additional-build-args: ${{ inputs.additional-build-args }}
       ecr-repository-name: ${{ inputs.ecr-repository-name }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id || needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       git-sha: ${{ inputs.git-sha }}
       enable-buildkit-cache: ${{ inputs.enable-buildkit-cache }}
     secrets:
       AWS_ACCOUNT_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCOUNT_ID }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
       SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN }}
       AWS_CDN_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_CDN_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
       AWS_CDN_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_CDN_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
@@ -163,9 +140,8 @@ jobs:
   deploy:
     name: Deploy
     needs:
-      - initialize
       - build
-    if: ${{ always() && needs.build.result == 'success' && (needs.initialize.result == 'success' || needs.initialize.result == 'skipped') }}
+    if: ${{ always() && needs.build.result == 'success' }}
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-deploy.yml
     with:
       service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
@@ -173,9 +149,7 @@ jobs:
       service-identifier: ${{ inputs.service-identifier }}
       stage: ${{ inputs.stage }}
       image-tag: ${{ needs.build.outputs.image-tag }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ inputs.slack-message-id || needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       argocd-server: ${{ inputs.argocd-server }}
     secrets:
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT: ${{ secrets.MANIFEST_REPO_PAT }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
       ARGOCD_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ARGOCD_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-kotlin-v2.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-kotlin-v2.yml
index b955e05..53458ab 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-kotlin-v2.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-kotlin-v2.yml
@@ -144,8 +144,8 @@ on:
         required: true
         description: 'AWS Account ID for ECR and deployment access'
       SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app-level token for workflow notifications'
+        required: false
+        description: 'Slack app token for publishing the changelog to #info-releases'
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT:
         required: true
         description: 'GitHub PAT to commit/push to service repository'
@@ -178,9 +178,6 @@ on:
         description: 'ArgoCD authentication token for API access'
 
     outputs:
-      slack-message-id:
-        description: 'Slack message ID for deployment notifications'
-        value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       stage:
         description: 'Stage that was deployed to (dev,staging,production)'
         value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.stage }}
@@ -209,18 +206,9 @@ permissions:
   actions: write
 
 jobs:
-  initialize:
-    name: Initialize
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/component-initialize.yml
-    with:
-      service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-      service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-    secrets:
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
   test:
     name: Test
-    needs: initialize
-    if: always() && inputs.run-tests && needs.initialize.result == 'success'
+    if: inputs.run-tests
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-test-kotlin.yml
     with:
       runner-size: ${{ inputs.runner-size }}
@@ -229,15 +217,11 @@ jobs:
       gradle-module: ${{ inputs.gradle-module }}
       java-version: ${{ inputs.java-version }}
       gradle-args: ${{ inputs.gradle-args }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
     secrets:
       GHL_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.GHL_USERNAME }}
       GHL_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.GHL_PASSWORD }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
   build:
     name: Build
-    needs: initialize
-    if: always() && needs.initialize.result == 'success'
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-build.yml
     with:
       runner-size: ${{ inputs.runner-size }}
@@ -249,11 +233,9 @@ jobs:
       docker-file-name: ${{ inputs.docker-file-name }}
       additional-build-args: ${{ inputs.additional-build-args }}
       ecr-repository-name: ${{ inputs.ecr-repository-name }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       git-sha: ${{ inputs.git-sha }}
     secrets:
       AWS_ACCOUNT_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCOUNT_ID }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
       GHL_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.GHL_USERNAME }}
       GHL_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.GHL_PASSWORD }}
       SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN }}
@@ -264,10 +246,9 @@ jobs:
   deploy:
     name: Deploy
     needs:
-      - initialize
       - test
       - build
-    if: always() && needs.initialize.result == 'success' && (!inputs.run-tests || needs.test.result == 'success') && needs.build.result == 'success'
+    if: always() && (!inputs.run-tests || needs.test.result == 'success') && needs.build.result == 'success'
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-deploy-v2.yml
     with:
       service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
@@ -275,7 +256,6 @@ jobs:
       service-identifier: ${{ inputs.service-identifier }}
       stage: ${{ inputs.stage }}
       image-tag: ${{ needs.build.outputs.image-tag }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       helm-values-path: ${{ inputs.helm-values-path }}
       repository-name: ${{ inputs.repository-name }}
       argocd-server: ${{ inputs.argocd-server }}
@@ -283,7 +263,6 @@ jobs:
       argocd-sync-wait-seconds: ${{ inputs.argocd-sync-wait-seconds }}
     secrets:
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT: ${{ secrets.MANIFEST_REPO_PAT }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
       ARGOCD_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ARGOCD_TOKEN }}
   update-service-profile:
     name: Update Service Profile
diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-kotlin.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-kotlin.yml
index 32de79a..f21792a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-kotlin.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-kotlin.yml
@@ -142,8 +142,8 @@ on:
         required: true
         description: 'AWS Account ID for ECR and deployment access'
       SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app-level token for workflow notifications'
+        required: false
+        description: 'Slack app token for publishing the changelog to #info-releases'
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT:
         required: true
         description: 'GitHub PAT to commit/push to kube-manifests repo'
@@ -176,9 +176,6 @@ on:
         description: 'ArgoCD authentication token for API access'
 
     outputs:
-      slack-message-id:
-        description: 'Slack message ID for deployment notifications'
-        value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       stage:
         description: 'Stage that was deployed to (dev,staging,production)'
         value: ${{ jobs.deploy.outputs.stage }}
@@ -207,18 +204,9 @@ permissions:
   actions: write
 
 jobs:
-  initialize:
-    name: Initialize
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/component-initialize.yml
-    with:
-      service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-      service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-    secrets:
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
   test:
     name: Test
-    needs: initialize
-    if: always() && inputs.run-tests && needs.initialize.result == 'success'
+    if: inputs.run-tests
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-test-kotlin.yml
     with:
       runner-size: ${{ inputs.runner-size }}
@@ -228,15 +216,11 @@ jobs:
       gradle-module: ${{ inputs.gradle-module }}
       java-version: ${{ inputs.java-version }}
       gradle-args: ${{ inputs.gradle-args }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
     secrets:
       GHL_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.GHL_USERNAME }}
       GHL_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.GHL_PASSWORD }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
   build:
     name: Build
-    needs: initialize
-    if: always() && needs.initialize.result == 'success'
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-build.yml
     with:
       runner-size: ${{ inputs.runner-size }}
@@ -248,11 +232,9 @@ jobs:
       docker-file-name: ${{ inputs.docker-file-name }}
       additional-build-args: ${{ inputs.additional-build-args }}
       ecr-repository-name: ${{ inputs.ecr-repository-name }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       git-sha: ${{ inputs.git-sha }}
     secrets:
       AWS_ACCOUNT_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCOUNT_ID }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
       GHL_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.GHL_USERNAME }}
       GHL_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.GHL_PASSWORD }}
       SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN }}
@@ -263,10 +245,9 @@ jobs:
   deploy:
     name: Deploy
     needs:
-      - initialize
       - test
       - build
-    if: always() && needs.initialize.result == 'success' && (!inputs.run-tests || needs.test.result == 'success') && needs.build.result == 'success'
+    if: always() && (!inputs.run-tests || needs.test.result == 'success') && needs.build.result == 'success'
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-deploy.yml
     with:
       service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
@@ -274,13 +255,11 @@ jobs:
       service-identifier: ${{ inputs.service-identifier }}
       stage: ${{ inputs.stage }}
       image-tag: ${{ needs.build.outputs.image-tag }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       argocd-server: ${{ inputs.argocd-server }}
       argocd-sync-wait-seconds: ${{ inputs.argocd-sync-wait-seconds }}
       wait-for-argocd-sync: ${{ inputs.wait-for-argocd-sync }}
     secrets:
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT: ${{ secrets.MANIFEST_REPO_PAT }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
       ARGOCD_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ARGOCD_TOKEN }}
   update-service-profile:
     name: Update Service Profile
diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-python.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-python.yml
index 4eac058..6b052e9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-python.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-python.yml
@@ -59,9 +59,6 @@ on:
       AWS_ACCOUNT_ID:
         required: true
         description: 'AWS Account ID for ECR and deployment access'
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN:
-        required: true
-        description: 'Slack app-level token for workflow notifications'
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT:
         required: true
         description: 'GitHub PAT to commit/push to kube-manifests repo'
@@ -84,18 +81,8 @@ permissions:
   actions: read
 
 jobs:
-  initialize:
-    name: Initialize
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/component-initialize.yml
-    with:
-      service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
-      service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
-    secrets:
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
-
   test:
     name: Test
-    needs: initialize
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-test-python.yml
     with:
       runner-size: ${{ inputs.runner-size }}
@@ -103,13 +90,10 @@ jobs:
       service-name: ${{ inputs.service-name }}
       service-emoji: ${{ inputs.service-emoji }}
       docker-compose-path: ${{ inputs.docker-compose-path }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
     secrets:
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
       TEST_ENV_FILE: ${{ secrets.TEST_ENV_FILE }}
   build:
     name: Build
-    needs: initialize
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-build.yml
     with:
       runner-size: ${{ inputs.runner-size }}
@@ -121,11 +105,9 @@ jobs:
       docker-file-name: ${{ inputs.docker-file-name }}
       additional-build-args: ${{ inputs.additional-build-args }}
       ecr-repository-name: ${{ inputs.ecr-repository-name }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
       git-sha: ${{ inputs.git-sha }}
     secrets:
       AWS_ACCOUNT_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCOUNT_ID }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}
       SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN }}
       AWS_CDN_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_CDN_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
       AWS_CDN_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_CDN_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
@@ -133,7 +115,6 @@ jobs:
   deploy:
     name: Deploy
     needs:
-      - initialize
       - test
       - build
     uses: ./.github/workflows/component-deploy.yml
@@ -143,7 +124,5 @@ jobs:
       service-identifier: ${{ inputs.service-identifier }}
       stage: ${{ inputs.stage }}
       image-tag: ${{ needs.build.outputs.image-tag }}
-      slack-message-id: ${{ needs.initialize.outputs.slack-message-id }}
     secrets:
       MANIFEST_REPO_PAT: ${{ secrets.MANIFEST_REPO_PAT }}
-      SLACK_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_APP_TOKEN }}