diff --git a/osism/commands/worker.py b/osism/commands/worker.py
index 88cac175..33a8741a 100644
--- a/osism/commands/worker.py
+++ b/osism/commands/worker.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
+import multiprocessing
 import subprocess
 
 from cliff.command import Command
@@ -7,11 +8,16 @@
 
 class Run(Command):
     def get_parser(self, prog_name):
+        if multiprocessing.cpu_count() <= 8:
+            number_of_workers_default = multiprocessing.cpu_count()
+        else:
+            number_of_workers_default = 8
+
         parser = super(Run, self).get_parser(prog_name)
         parser.add_argument(
             "--number-of-workers",
             "-n",
-            default=16,
+            default=number_of_workers_default,
             type=int,
             help="Number of workers",
         )
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/number-of-workers-f55a3422c0b976cc.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/number-of-workers-f55a3422c0b976cc.yaml
index cac5b4f2..0147fc01 100644
--- a/releasenotes/notes/number-of-workers-f55a3422c0b976cc.yaml
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/number-of-workers-f55a3422c0b976cc.yaml
@@ -3,4 +3,5 @@ features:
   - |
     With the new parameter `--number-of-workers` for the worker command, it
     is now possible to increase the number of workers that can be used
-    simultaneously. The value is set to 16 by default.
+    simultaneously. The value is set to the number of usable CPUs by default.
+    If the number of usable CPUs is higher than 8, the default value is 8.