I, too, find this very disappointing news.
Yes, I have both a Ford and a Mercury currently in my garage.
Moving vehicle models, which should have a Mercury badge over to having a Lincoln badge, will only serve to degrade the value of the Lincoln brand. For example, having a Mercury variation of the Escape is good. Having a Lincoln variation of the Escape is bad. I mean, over pricing an Escape does not made it Lincoln.
GM tried this with Cadillac a few decades ago, with slapping Cadillac badges on Chevys. It took GM decades and millions of dollars to recover the lost value of their Cadillac brand.
Personally, I have a Mariner, because Mercury offered the variation of options I wanted, and Ford did not. I don't see that changing. In other words, I would not have bought an Escape, and Ford would have lost the sale. Ford intentionally throwing away sales, IMHO, does not make for a good, long range, business plan.
Goodbye Mercury. But don't be sad, the rest of Ford will be joining you in the corporate junk yard very soon.