Sony Mobile is to axe about 15 percent of its workforce as part of a restructure that will see the handset vendor move its corporate headquarters from Sweden to Japan.

About a thousand jobs, including consultants, will go in Lund, Sweden, over the next two years (by the end of March 2014), though Sony Mobile says the site will remain an “important strategic site” focusing on software and apps development.

Sony Mobile was formed at the beginning of the year, after Sony bought out Ericsson’s share in their Sony Ericsson JV for EUR1.05 billion.

The decision to move the unit closer to the Japan-based parent is designed to “enhance operational and development capabilities of Sony Mobile such as time to market efficiency, streamline supply chain management and drive greater integration with the wider Sony group,” the firm said in a statement.

Sony Mobile CEO Kunimasa Suzuki said the "integration and convergence" with the Sony group would help bring the unit “back to a place of strength."