I don't know if I agree with that. I mean, I am not an engineer, I am an immunologist by education, so maybe that brings different views and experiences.
It has been shown several times now that its getting harder to get those breakthrough findings, yes, so much is true.
But they still happen. Just look at the Crispr/Cas9 Nobel Prize, I know for many academics the biopharma industry is the big evil but gene therapies are now being developed, the first one was recently approved, was in the UK I think against sickle-cell anemia.
He did lament the Covid19 period and yes, this did bring challenges. Misinformation and publishing useless crap by slapping Coronavirus on it was definitely at an all time high. But on the flipside we got Covid vaccines, mRNA (!) vaccines at that. Amazing technology that is thanks to that now getting used more widely.
Maybe the sentiment changed and academia is just finally showing its face to everyone as a place that does not function well with too many researchers in it. Academia does not scale, yet every year more people finish degrees (citation needed, I know). Industry scales. At least from my experience. Yes, it might not be the freedom you can get in academia, but honestly what is that academic freedom worth if only a small percentage can ever achieve it?