Well, just U.S. chip companies, i mean. The problem is, lack of cutting edge innovation to distinguish oneself from the "me-too" cheap asian chip companies that are experiences at competing on cost and driving costs way down..
It sucks to work in an industry on the bottom of the food chain of a product. Take a smartphone. As a tech worker, you are a the lowest of the low working on the chip commodity that goes into the phone. The OEMs will squeeze every penny out of your product, and put you always in a 3 way death match with two other competitors that will always claim to be able to do things much cheaper than you.
One step above the lowly chip companies, are engineers that work for the OEM phone companies. Here, you are at the mercy of all the mobile carriers. But don't worry, if they put an unreasonable demand on your phone design, you can always compress the schedule and put pressure on your chip suppliers to deliver more for less and faster, OR ELSE.
One step above the lowly chip companies, are the engineers that work for the mobile providers. Here, you can create stupid sh-- and put pressure on the OEM smartphone makers to build it, OR ELSE. Unfortunately, your stupid sh-- has to fit within the confines of the guys above you...Those that create the O/S and egosystem..
That would be your googles, facebook, Apple (somewhat), and other app folks. Here, what you do to the O/S (like Android or iOS), everyone else has to put up with your sh--.