Whirlpool said it plans to close 4 Michigan plants.

The Benton Harbor, Mich.-based appliance manufacturer will close the four St. Joseph division plants, idling 1,050 workers, because of what the company called excess capacity and a phase-out of a line of compact washers. The tentative plan calls for transferring all of St. Joseph’s manufacturing operations to other Whirlpool divisions over a one-year period beginning in mid-1987, the company said. A final decision on the proposals will be made within 60 days, said spokesman Dennis Krueger.