Boeing Co said it would close a Defense, Space & Security facility that employees more than 2,160 workers in Wichita by the end of 2013.

The plant is the base for the company's Global Transport & Executive Systems business and its B-52 and 767 International Tanker programs.

Boeing said in a statement that the site does not have enough sustainable business on the horizon to create an affordable cost structure to maintain and generate new business.

In this time of defense budget reductions, as well as shifting customer priorities, Boeing has decided to close its operations in Wichita to reduce costs, increase efficiencies, and drive competitiveness, said Mark Bass, vice president and general manager for BDS' Maintenance, Modifications & Upgrades division in the statement.

Bass said Boeing does not anticipate job reductions as a result of this decision until early in the third quarter of 2012.

Boeing announced the decision after completing a study of the plant. The plane maker's defense business has about 64,000 workers.

Boeing shares were down 17 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $74.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa and Kyle Peterson; editing by John Wallace and Tim Dobbyn)