diff --git a/scripts/mkpkg b/scripts/mkpkg
index 950616a0c..b19687ce6 100755
--- a/scripts/mkpkg
+++ b/scripts/mkpkg
@@ -125,6 +125,9 @@ if ${MAKE} --version 2>&1 | grep GNU >/dev/null; then
 	    ;;
     esac
     if [ $NJOBS -gt 1 ]; then
+	if [ $NJOBS -gt 16 ]; then
+	    NJOBS=16
+	fi
 	make_opts="-j$NJOBS"
     fi
 fi