diff --git a/.github/workflows/pre_merge.yaml b/.github/workflows/pre_merge.yaml
index 201aaf089e..2603736b7f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pre_merge.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pre_merge.yaml
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Code quality checks
         run: tox -vv -e pre-commit
   Unit-Test:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-20.04-16-cores
     needs: Code-Quality-Checks
     timeout-minutes: 120
     strategy: