diff --git a/src/base.rs b/src/base.rs
index df40a5eb475..8d3be19839e 100644
--- a/src/base.rs
+++ b/src/base.rs
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ pub(crate) fn compile_fn(
                 let early_dcx = rustc_session::EarlyDiagCtxt::new(
                     rustc_session::config::ErrorOutputType::default(),
                 );
-                early_dcx.early_error(format!(
+                early_dcx.early_fatal(format!(
                     "backend implementation limit exceeded while compiling {name}",
                     name = codegened_func.symbol_name
                 ));