I heard today about some changes going on inside Grey's NYC office. It seems a few production folks will be going home, and not coming back, at the end of the month. Nothing too newsworthy there, unless you consider the battle star's latest big hire.

They recently took on creative supa-star Noel Cottrell to helm ETrade (just a note: we hear the financial company is frequently late on paying the bills).

Through the grapevine, I learned a little about Cottrell's signing deal. Along with moving his family stateside (from South Africa), he got the typical giant salary (specific amount? we gather a few mil.), and a swanky-ass apartment. But the kicker, which we imagine sweetened the deal considerably, is a guaranteed 6-month severance should he and the company part ways.

Cottrell said of the severance that he's learned how to negotiate this kind of thing so it's always a win-win. Seems to take the pressure off him actually doing well, eh? And when other, much lower-paid people in the shop, are getting laid off and ETrade isn't what it could/should be, makes you wonder when big agencies will learn to displace salaries. That way, you'll have fewer pissed-off lay-offs who like to vent via adblogs. Burn!