After about 40 years in New York City, “All My Children” is moving to Los Angeles.

The announcement was made by ABC's Daytime Programming division yesterday.

The head of the division said the move will save the network money at a time when network viewership is at an all-time low.

The Buchanan clan from "One Life to Live" will now move into "All My Children's" old space on Manhattan's West Side.

The network says "All My Children's" new facility in California is twice as large as its current one, and will allow the series to switch to a high-definition broadcast.

ABC says the soap will relocate in December and begin taping in January.

Katherine Oliver, the commissioner of the city's Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting said the city is saddened by the production's departure.

"While set in a fictional Pennsylvania town from the beginning, 'All My Children' has been based in New York City since 1970 and we are sorry to see it go," said Oliver, adding, "Since 2002, New York City has seen an 83 percent increase in location shooting days for various films, TV shows, commercials and music videos."

Many of those programs are eligible for special city tax credits, but soap operas are not.

Workers say they are worried that their jobs will be lost. Out of the 200 production employees, there is an unknown number of jobs both union and non-union that will be affected.

"We're going to lose the people to California, the show will go there, but another show will move in, but that show already has a crew attached," explained maintenance supervisor Larry Dalassandro. "So what do we do with the people that are already working on this coast? From my point of view, from the union, a lot of people could be without jobs."

"It was kind of alarming at first, but these things happen in this business," said Tony Pascarelli, the show's associate director. "And you just gotta hope that things work out for everyone. There is a lot of the crew that doesn't even have the option of moving out there and that's a major concern. Everyone's got families. But, like I've said, this is the business we've chosen."

"All My Children" is the latest soap opera to be affected by the decline in television viewership. CBS announced earlier this year that it was canceling "Guiding Light" as of this fall. It will replaced by a remake of the game show "Let's Make a Deal."

"I think it's good [All My Children] hasn't been cancelled. But that is a concern when they talk about production moving and how it will impact the show and the people who work on it," said a viewer.

"All My Children" debuted on ABC in 1970. The show marked its 10,000 episode last year.

The move does not affect its time slot. The soap will still air at 1 o'clock weekdays, with "One Life to Live" following at 2 o'clock.