When PS3 launch happens the majority of them will start on the low pop servers first. So I don't think a server merge is really necessary at this point.

Oh and you are naive if you think that people don't follow any tidbit of bad news about this or any other major MMO like that. It is a sign that the developer doesn't expect the game to grow significantly in the future. So like I said it is way too early when SE hasn't even started charging subscription fees to think that they are accepting equal or less than the current population when considering server needs.