The Netherlands' top supermarket chain said Tuesday it has ditched plans to ask staff to upload photos of themselves in their underwear to work out sizes for new uniforms.

The Albert Heijn retailer had asked workers at one of its stores in Nijmegen to send the pictures using an "innovative mobile app."

But it changed course after the Dutch newspaper NRC quoted stunned employees as complaining about the plan.

Albert Heijn insisted the plan was voluntary and was aimed at helping bring in new uniforms for staff at its 1,000 Dutch stores.

"We conducted a test with an innovative mobile app in one of our supermarkets in order to determine clothing sizes in a quick and efficient way," Albert Heijn said in a statement.

"Although participation was voluntarily and pictures were not visible to management, this should never have happened. We have cancelled the pilot plan yesterday and we apologize to all involved."