Guide Dogs is planning to downsize its major donor fundraising team, less than a year after expanding the department.

The charity has confirmed that it is consulting with staff on proposals to restructure the department, which will reduce the number of roles, but insists that no final decisions have been made. Reports in the media suggest that all seven staff in the major donors team could be made redundant with the team set to shrink to one person.

In a statement the charity said: “Guide Dogs is currently undertaking a restructure of the major donor function and a number of roles are being reviewed, subject to consultation with staff.”

It adds: “We are still at the proposal stage and final decisions will not be made until we have consulted with staff. We appreciate this is a very difficult time for the staff involved and we are supporting them in every way we can, including priority status for any internal jobs, independent advice on job searching, and counselling support.”

The charity recruited more staff to its major donors team, when trustees decided to expand its services for children and young people in November 2012.

In April, Guide Dogs acquired the National Blind Children’s Society, through which it is now delivering all of its services for young people. This resulted in a new fundraising strategy for the organisation and a review of a number of roles.

“We continue to plan for a major new fundraising appeal for children and young people's services, however after seeking high-level external advice we are proposing a different approach which affects the staff resource needed for this initiative.”

The charity employs more than 1,000 staff overall.