diff --git a/lifecycle/gunicorn.conf.py b/lifecycle/gunicorn.conf.py
index e03372481..211f78680 100644
--- a/lifecycle/gunicorn.conf.py
+++ b/lifecycle/gunicorn.conf.py
@@ -51,7 +51,8 @@ logconfig_dict = {
 if SERVICE_HOST_ENV_NAME in os.environ:
     workers = 2
 else:
-    workers = int(os.environ.get("WORKERS", cpu_count() * 2 + 1))
+    default_workers = max(cpu_count() * 0.25, 1) + 1 # Minimum of 2 workers
+    workers = int(os.environ.get("WORKERS", default_workers))
 threads = 4
 
 warnings.simplefilter("once")