Supermarket group Sainsbury's has said it will create 10,000 new part-time jobs in a bid to cut waiting times at check-outs.

But the news was tempered by confirmation that the retailer is considering heavy redundancies in its London head office.

Sainsbury's said a head-office review was underway, but would not speculate on the number of jobs losses.

A report in the Sunday Times newspaper had suggested the group was planning to cut a quarter of head office jobs, or 650 posts.

Shorter queues

Sainsbury's is the UK's second largest supermarket group but has struggled to keep up with market leader Tesco.

There has also been growing competition from its rival Asda, owned by the US group Wal-Mart, which is vying for the number two position.

Last month, Sainsbury's admitted sales had slipped further after it focused too much on making profit and not enough on shifting stock.

A spokeswoman for the group said the 10,000 new jobs would be mainly part-time positions.

There are designed to help stores open more check-outs at peak times and add to the number of staff helping shoppers pack bags.