diff --git a/roles/copr/backend/templates/copr-be.conf.j2 b/roles/copr/backend/templates/copr-be.conf.j2
index cc8ee677b1..d5eb845b47 100644
--- a/roles/copr/backend/templates/copr-be.conf.j2
+++ b/roles/copr/backend/templates/copr-be.conf.j2
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ builds_max_workers_sandbox=35
 
 # Maximum number of concurrent background processes spawned for handling
 # actions.
-actions_max_workers=20
+actions_max_workers={% if env == 'production' %}20{% else %}4{% endif %}
 
 # publish fedmsg notifications from workers if true
 # default is false