Real Men Have Fabs.
The above quip came from TJ Rodgers of AMD/Cypress. It was popularized by Jerry Sanders, CEO of AMD.[1]
There were many fabs back in the day. Now they're mostly EPA Superfund sites in Silicon Valley.
The IC industry has done thru many many boom/bust cycles. This cycle could be one of the worst because fabs are so expensive that everyone has chosen to simply buy their chips from the few remaining "real men" who still have fabs.
Not entirely unforeseen.
[1] https://semiwiki.com/john-east/273760-real-men-have-fabs-jer...